Also known as: stipulate · stipulates · stipulated · stipulating · stipulations · stipulatio · stipulator
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A voluntary agreement between opposing parties or their counsel concerning a factual, procedural, or evidentiary matter in a pending case. The agreement binds the parties without additional consideration and narrows the issues for trial or streamlines discovery.
Skylar Sullivan served twenty-six interrogatories on Stonehaven Properties in a contract dispute. The parties executed a written agreement allowing the extra interrogatory, and the court accepted the filing without further motion practice.
Simon Stern, charged as a felon in possession, offered to stipulate that he had a qualifying prior conviction. The government declined and sought to introduce the full judgment and sentencing transcript, prompting the court to weigh prejudice under Rule 403.
Sarah Sullivan and Summit Bank met at the Rule 16 conference and agreed that certain bank records were authentic and that the loan balance on a stated date was $142,000. The court incorporated the agreement into the pretrial order, eliminating the need for authentication testimony.
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Sophia Singh served requests for admission on Sapphire Holdings. The parties agreed in writing to extend the response deadline by twenty days under Rule 29, and Sapphire served its answers within the extended period without objection.
Sofia Stern filed a divorce residency challenge and stipulated with the state that numerous other plaintiffs were in identical situations and that joinder was impracticable. The district court approved the stipulation and certified the class.
Solomon Silver was prosecuted for online threats. The parties stipulated that an FBI agent would testify the defendant admitted operating the website and authoring the posts. The stipulation was read to the jury in lieu of live testimony.
A stipulation between parties is binding without consideration once made, but certain stipulations that affect court schedules or discovery deadlines require court approval under the Federal Rules.
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Once approved or relied upon by the court, a stipulation is generally binding and may be set aside only upon a showing of good cause such as fraud or manifest injustice.
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When the defendant offers to stipulate to felon status, the government may be limited to introducing only the fact of the conviction rather than the full record if the additional details create unfair prejudice that substantially outweighs probative value.
A stipulation removes the need to prove the agreed fact, allowing the jury to be instructed that the fact is established and focusing the trial on genuinely disputed issues.
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…in every case; that the defendant will never stipulate to the nature of the controlled substance; that even where no such stipulation is made, every defendant will object to the evidence or otherwise demand the appearance of the analyst. These assumptions are wildly unrealistic, and, as discussed below, the figures they…