American Samoa Court Rules (2026)
We publish 11 sets of American Samoa court rules, totaling 427 rules, promulgated by the High Court and published by the American Samoa Bar Association. Almost every assumption from stateside practice needs recalibrating here. There is no federal district court on the islands, so federal cases are tried in Honolulu or Washington; there is no certiorari path to the U.S. Supreme Court from the High Court, which makes its Appellate Division genuinely final; and the justices are appointed by the Secretary of the Interior rather than elected or locally confirmed. The civil rules follow the Federal Rules closely, with a 20-day answer — but Rules 38 and 39 are marked "(Omitted)", so there is NO CIVIL JURY under the rules as published. Criminal charging is by information rather than indictment, and there is no grand jury. Land is the other thing to know: about 90% of it is communally owned and controlled by matai, and disputes over communal land or matai titles go to the Land and Titles Division, where the Federal Rules have no application, the parties must first appear twice before the Secretary of Samoan Affairs without counsel, and a matai-title case is decided by the majority of four matai associate judges with the law-trained justice abstaining. Each rule includes the full text, a plain-English summary, committee notes, amendment history, and cross-references to related rules.
American Samoa Court Rules & Rules of Practice
How this jurisdiction's courts and rules are organized, written for lawyers new to it: the court system, every ruleset a litigator touches, and how a case actually moves. Last verified September 24, 2026. For informational purposes only.
- Court System Overview
- The Ruleset Map
- Civil Litigation Mechanics
- Criminal Practice Mechanics
- Evidence
- Appellate Mechanics
- Rules of Professional Conduct
- Attorney Discipline & Enforcement
- Newcomer Orientation Notes
- Sources & Verification
High Court Rules
The High Court's own rules, effective October 1, 1981 and cited "21 HCR". They apply to the High Court, the District Court and the Village Courts, and supplement the Code. Several distinct bodies of rule live inside this one set: general and administrative provisions, the clerk's and marshal's offices, the law library, papers and pleadings (HCR 51-56), Rules of Conduct (101-106), Contempt Rules (111-120), Rules of Admission (131-147) and the Disciplinary Rules (151-183). HCR 104 is the provision that adopts the ABA Model Rules as the conduct standard; HCR 140 makes the bar integrated, so only a member may practice; and HCR 145 governs pro hac vice admission, which requires an active local member as attorney of record.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseTrial Court Rules of Civil Procedure
American Samoa's civil rules, modeled on the Federal Rules and cited locally NUMBER FIRST as "34 TCRCP". They govern civil suits in the High Court and the District Court, with the answer due 20 days after service under TCRCP 12(a) and FRCP-pattern discovery at Rules 26-37. The striking omission is the jury: TCRCP 38 and 39 are both marked "(Omitted)", so there is NO CIVIL JURY under the rules as published — a civil case in the Trial Division is decided by the justice sitting with associate judges, the justice's opinion prevailing. Forum depends on amount: over $15,000 goes to the Trial Division, $15,000 or less to the District Court, under $3,000 to small claims.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseTrial Court Rules of Evidence
The evidence rules, numbered on the Federal Rules of Evidence (101 through 1101) and cited "403 TCREv". TCREv 1101 gives them unusually wide reach: they apply in all courts of American Samoa and generally to civil actions including maritime cases, to criminal cases, to LAND AND TITLES proceedings and to contempt proceedings. Custom is not built into these rules but into the tribunal that applies them — a matai-title case is decided by the majority of the four matai associate judges with the law-trained justice abstaining, and the Land and Titles Division may proceed by "natural justice and convenience" where the rules are silent.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseTrial Court Rules of Criminal Procedure
The criminal rules, modeled on the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and cited "12 TCRCrP". Charging is by INFORMATION, not indictment: TCRCrP 7(a) provides that all felony offenses are initiated in the High Court by filing an information, and no grand jury provision appears in these rules or in the Code's preliminary-examination chapter. A defendant charged with a High Court offense is entitled to a preliminary examination within 10 days of the initial appearance if in custody, 20 days if not (TCRCrP 5(c)). Prosecutions are brought by the Attorney General in the name of the Government of American Samoa. Federal crimes cannot be tried on-island at all — there is no federal district court, and defendants go to Honolulu or Washington.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseAppellate Court Rules
Appeals to the Appellate Division of the High Court, cited "4 ACR". The Appellate Division sits as five members — one resident justice, two acting associate justices selected by the Secretary of the Interior (usually sitting federal appellate judges) and two associate judges. The sequence is unusually short and strictly enforced: a motion for a new trial must be filed within 10 DAYS of the judgment, and the notice of appeal within 10 days after that motion is denied (ACR 4; the case notes treat the new-trial motion as mandatory and jurisdictional). Rehearing and the bill of costs each run 14 days. Beyond the Appellate Division there is nothing standard — no certiorari path to the U.S. Supreme Court exists from the High Court.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseDistrict Court Rules
The District Court's rules, effective November 20, 1993 and cited "4 DCR". DCR 2 makes the High Court Rules and the Trial Court Rules apply in the District Court so far as practicable, so this set covers what is distinctive. Part II is SMALL CLAIMS (DCR 3-13): claims under $3,000, commenced by a sworn claim on a clerk's form filed in person or by mail, with an appeal to the Trial Division within 5 days for a trial de novo whose judgment is final. The District Court also handles initial appearances and preliminary examinations in every criminal case and tries misdemeanors, with a 6-person unanimous jury where the offense carries more than 6 months.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseLand and Titles Rules
The rules of the Land and Titles Division, which has exclusive jurisdiction over communal land and matai titles — and where about 90% of American Samoa's land is at stake, communally owned and controlled by matai. This is procedurally its own world: the Federal Rules "shall have no application" there, and the division may act "in such manner as it considers to be most consistent with natural justice and convenience" where its rules are silent. Registration of matai titles and land titles is commenced by petition to the TERRITORIAL REGISTRAR rather than the clerk (TCRLT 2-3), and the clerk is directed to receive but NOT file a complaint that lacks the Secretary of Samoan Affairs' certificate of irreconcilable dispute — the parties must first appear personally, without counsel, at least twice before the Secretary. Never treat a land dispute here as ordinary civil litigation.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseRules of Probate Procedure
The probate rules, which apply to FORMAL probate under Code sections 40.0301 through 40.0333 and expressly not to the informal small-estate procedure at 40.0334 through 40.0342 (TCRPr 1). Probate sits in the High Court's Trial Division. Sixteen rules, read alongside the civil rules, which apply generally.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseVillage Court Rules
Fifteen rules for the Village Courts, the lowest tier of American Samoa's judiciary and a genuinely distinctive institution: proceedings are initiated when a pulenu'u acts, and retrials go to the District Court. The High Court Rules apply here too (HCR 3). Together with the Land and Titles Division's certificate requirement, the Village Courts are where fa'a Samoa is built into procedure rather than layered on top of it.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseRules for Summary Repossession
Nine rules governing summary repossession, the seventh part of the Trial Court Rules. A short, self-contained track for recovering possession, read against the civil rules, which apply generally where these are silent.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseJury Rules
Seven rules supplementing the Code's jury chapter and applying to all jury proceedings in the High Court and the District Court. Criminal jury trial in American Samoa exists because a federal court required it — King v. Andrus (D.D.C. 1977) held that criminal jury trials "would not be impractical or anomalous in the territory" — and the Trial Division has conducted six-person jury trials since. There is no civil jury: the civil rules omit the jury-demand and trial-by-jury rules entirely.
Updated 2026 Edition
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