Court processes often require motions. Motions are filed by legal teams to initiate different phases of a case or to request the court’s action. A motion of discovery, or discovery motion, is one of the first motions filed in a civil or criminal court case. It starts the exchange of evidence between both sides.
In this way and beyond, the experienced New York construction accident attorneys at Schwartzapfel Lawyersare prepared to comprehensively gather evidence for your case. Call us now at 516-342-2200 or visit with us online to set up your free consultation and/or case evaluation for your personal injury case.
Alternatively, please continue reading to learn more about discovery and what it takes to mount a winning case in court.
What Is A Motion Of Discovery?
A motion is any request that a skilled legal team makes to the court. Whenever a seasoned legal team asks for the court’s support on an issue or wants to begin a new phase of a court process, they file a motion for the court to make their request part of the record. A motion also creates a chain of accountability by proving that a qualified legal team made a formal request.
In the court system, “discovery” refers to the process of both sides discovering evidence. A motion of discovery is when both sides of a criminal case or a civil case share evidence or information they’ve discovered. Each side has the right to review all of the information that may be presented in court. It’s very rare that evidence can be presented to the court if it wasn’t disclosed during the discovery process.
What Information Is Included In A Motion Of Discovery?
A motion of discovery includes all physical evidence, such as paperwork, documents, and photographs. It doesn’t include things like digital video or emails. Anything stored digitally is obtained through eDiscovery (that is, electronic discovery), and obtaining electronically stored information is considered a separate process.
The way that court cases are handled has changed significantly since the introduction of technology into the courtroom. It’s far more convenient to digitize files and send them via email. Most evidence is no longer paper collected in boxes. Evidence is usually held in USB drives or external hard drives full of files, videos, audio clips, and photos.
Because the majority of information is stored electronically, physical discovery and electronic discovery usually begin at the same time. However, the court system has not yet condensed the motions or processes to account for modern technology, so they still must be treated as separate issues.
Who Files The Motion Of Discovery?
A motion for discovery doesn’t need to be formally filed at the beginning of a trial. Both parties can meet and decide to exchange evidence the moment they know their case is going to trial, and the exchange of evidence can begin before a motion for discovery is filed.
The motion for discovery is almost always filed by the defensive legal team. They want to know what they need to defend themselves against in court. In a criminal case, it’s usually filed by the legal team representing the person accused of a crime. In a civil case, a motion for discovery is generally filed by the legal team of the person or business being sued.
The experienced New York construction accident attorneys at Schwartzapfel Lawyers will organize and disclose all necessary evidence in your case. We’ll carefully review the evidence presented by the defendant to prepare strategic counterarguments. Call us now at 516-342-2200 for a free consultation about your personal injury case.
When Does The Discovery Period Occur?
The motion for discovery technically starts as soon as the case starts and it never ends. Discovery is an ongoing process that can continue throughout a trial, even if a legal team discovers important evidence halfway through a trial. It doesn’t matter when the evidence is found — it almost always has to be shared with the opposing legal team as soon as possible.
There may be occasions where a legal team doesn’t receive evidence until the last minute. As long as they disclose the evidence the moment they receive it, they’re allowed to use it.
You may have seen court dramas on TV in which a legal team makes a startling revelation about surprise evidence or a surprise witness. It’s okay to do that as long as the evidence is genuinely new to the legal team and presented as soon as they have it and understand its value.
A legal team is not allowed to withhold evidence with the intention of blindsiding the opposition. If it’s ever discovered that a legal team knew about it and purposely did not disclose it to take the opposition by surprise, it can create serious consequences for the legal team.
What Happens If Someone Doesn’t Comply With Discovery?
Typically, each party has (30) days to respond to a motion for discovery. During this time, the party can object to a motion for discovery if they feel that the evidence or information the opposing party is asking for would be unnecessary, irrelevant, or troublesome to provide. They can’t refuse to provide evidence because they believe it to be damning, especially not if they have that evidence easily available.
If one side believes that the other side is withholding significant evidence, they can file a motion to compel discovery. A motion to compel directly involves the judge, who can force an opposing party to provide necessary evidence that they’re withholding.
Then, if the plaintiff or the prosecutor doesn’t comply with a motion to compel, the judge has the power, known as dismissal, to throw the whole case out.
To learn more now, call Schwartzapfel Lawyers at 516-342-2200 or schedule your free consultation online today. One call may save you miles of headache, heartache, and financial strain down the road. Moreover, no matter your situation, it will be our honor and privilege to fight for you every step of the way.
If, however, you would rather go over the material by yourself first, please continue reading.
Do You Really Have To Provide Everything During Discovery?
During discovery, everything that might be mentioned in court or used as part of the case needs to be provided, including a comprehensive list of witnesses each side intends to call.
Sometimes, a legal team may be hesitant to hand over certain pieces of evidence because they’re afraid of how the opposition can use that evidence. It’s unconstitutional to withhold evidence, and doing so can lead to a mistrial. If a legal team attempts to surprise the opposition with undisclosed evidence during a trial, they likely will not be allowed to use that evidence.
There may be cases where a legal team has evidence slightly related to a case, but disclosing that evidence would jeopardize the privacy or safety of another person. For example, a legal team may have private medical records of a client’s family member. If these medical records are only loosely related to the case and shouldn’t be used as direct evidence, the legal team has the right to withhold sensitive information in the interest of protecting someone’s privacy.
If the other side has a reasonable belief that the information you don’t release into discovery has a significant impact on their case, they can file a motion to compel. You may have to release that information if the judge finds that it’s crucial. If the judge doesn’t believe the information is necessary for the case, you may be allowed to withhold it.
Are There Alternative Methods Of Discovery?
Evidence can be obtained and reviewed in many ways. The discovery process for physical and electronic evidence is only the beginning. Some cases require legal teams to investigate a situation more deeply by obtaining different types of evidence or examining its authenticity. This may involve using subpoenas, examining evidence authenticity, and requiring a professional examination, among other processes.
Using Subpoenas
A subpoena is a court order that forces someone to comply with a disclosure request or to provide testimony. One side of a case may have access to information that would be valuable to the other side of the case, even if they don’t intend to include that information as evidence. If it shouldn’t be used as evidence, it’s not included within the scope of discovery.
The opposition can use a subpoena to compel the other side to provide information that they may be able to use as evidence. Subpoenas prevent a legal team from concealing, ignoring, or attempting to hide important facts or testimony that their opposition may find useful.
Examining Evidence Authenticity
The authenticity of evidence might be questioned. If one legal team has a reason to believe that the opposing team has provided fabricated, altered, or misleading evidence, they have the right to ask that the evidence be examined for authenticity.
Evidence is usually examined by professionals in a specific field. For instance, a telecommunications professional can review text messages to determine if they were a genuine exchange between two people. Then, too, a crime scene analyst can review the area where events took place or view photos of the scene to determine if the scene was tampered with. As for forgery, professionals in the field are frequently called to testify in civil cases in order to review documents and analyze signatures of legal significance.
In any event, the award-winning New York personal injury attorneys of Schwartzapfel Lawyerswill pour over all evidence for your case to ensure its authenticity. Call us now at 516-342-2200 for a free consultation and so much more!
Requiring A Professional Examination
It’s common for the opposing legal team to require a professional examination of the plaintiff in an injury case.
The legal team may ask that an unbiased doctor perform a physical, bloodwork, or psychological evaluation on someone who is claiming that their client is responsible for damage to someone’s mental or physical health. In wrongful death cases, a legal team may ask that the deceased’s body be examined by a forensic medical examiner.
In this case, the evidence would be the findings produced by a doctor. This is a necessary part of cases where someone has been injured, and the plaintiff needs to participate in this examination.
Can Evidence Be Collected After Discovery?
Depositions are an important part of the court process. Both legal teams want to talk to as many witnesses as possible. Arranging depositions or taking statements is crucial for giving both sides insight into what witnesses intend to say at trial.
Both parties are usually present for depositions, and depositions are usually recorded. Recordings or transcripts of depositions are entered into evidence for future reference. Depositions are often the only way to collect statements from people who cannot or will not be present at trial but who have valuable information to provide.
Depositions can be difficult, both to pursue and to execute successfully. Since information is discussed and reviewed in advance, the opposition can compare the testimony given by a witness at trial with the information they provided at their deposition. If the information doesn’t align, they can use the discrepancies to make the witness appear to be less credible or untruthful.
Since situations like these can have a significant impact on the outcome of a trial, the discovery period is technically when a trial actually begins. It’s important for both legal teams to be organized from the moment a Motion for Discovery goes into effect.
Getting YOU The Legal Team YOU Deserve
All parts of the court process are important, from the moment a claim is filed to the moment a settlement is reached. In this way, the discovery stage is vital for compiling and presenting evidence because once all evidence is available, both sides have all of the information they need to begin building their cases.
The seasoned New York personal injury attorneys of Schwartzapfel Lawyershave more than (150) years of combined experience building and mounting strong, successful cases. As such, we’ll leave no stone unturned when reviewing and collecting evidence for your case.
Call us now at 516-342-2200 or schedule online to start with your free consultation today. In and out of court, we won’t stop fighting until you win!
DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this page should be considered legal advice. You should seek the appropriate counsel your situation requires. For more information, call 516-342-2200 now!
Sources:
Schwartzapfel Lawyers, P.C. | Fighting For You
How Courts Work: Discovery | American Bar Association
Common Examples of Motions | NY CourtHelp
You’ve Been Served: Surviving a Deposition | ERIC Institute of Education Sciences
