Complaint

This written document contains the allegations against the defense, the specific laws violated, the facts that led to the dispute, and any demands made by the plaintiff to restore justice.

Several United States federal courts publish general guidelines for the petitioners and Civil Rights complaint forms.

For example, in United States federal courts, any person who is at least 18 years old and not a party may serve a summons and complaint in a civil case.

[5] The defendant must submit an answer within 21 days after being served with the summons and complaint, or request a waiver, according to FRCP Rule 12.

There are also freely accessible web search engines to assist parties in finding court decisions that can be cited in the complaint as an example or analogy to resolve similar questions of law.

Google Scholar is the biggest database of full text state and federal courts decisions that can be accessed without charge.

[10] The system is managed by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts; it allows lawyers and self-represented clients to obtain documents entered in the case much faster than regular mail.

According to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) 5.2, sensitive text like Social Security number, Taxpayer Identification Number, birthday, bank accounts and children's names, should be redacted from the filings made with the court and accompanying exhibits,[16] (exhibits normally do not need to be attached to the original complaint, but should be presented to Court after the discovery).

[17][18] In the case of Fox v. Vice, the U.S. Supreme Court held that reasonable attorneys' fees could be awarded to the defendant under 42 U.S.C.