Discovery and Evidence

In court, it's not enough to know a fact - you have to be able to prove it.  That means you have to be able to convince a jury or a judge that the fact is most likely true.

Sometimes when you file a motion or a response to a motion with the court, you may make statements about information that the court does not know. The statements you are making may have never been included in any papers filed with court, nor been mentioned in front of the court. 

"Discovery" is a process you can use to find out information from another party to support your lawsuit. The purpose of discovery is to find out the information you need to prove your case or defend against the claims being made against you. You must figure out who you believe knows information that may be important to your case.

An interrogatory is a written question from one party to the lawsuit to another party to the lawsuit (usually, the opposing party). Interrogatories are a way to obtain information from the opposing party that may be useful in the lawsuit.

A deposition is a question-and-answer session during which an individual  provides testimony relating to the subject matter of the lawsuit under oath. There are two types of depositions – written and oral. Because written depositions are so rarely used, this article will address only oral depositions.

You may ask the opposing party to produce documents, tangible things, and electronically-stored information (“ESI”), and to permit you to enter land or property.

When a party’s mental or physical condition is in controversy in a lawsuit, the Court may order the party to undergo a mental or physical examination by a professional.

There are two types of request for admissions. The first type asks the opposing party to admit or deny the truth of facts. The second asks the opposing party to admit or deny the genuineness of documents or ESI.

Under the Maryland Rules, you must provide the opposing party with your discovery answers within either 30 days after service of the request or 15 days after the date on which the party’s initial pleading or motion is required, whichever is later.

Frequently asked questions about discovery in the Maryland circuit courts.

There are two steps in successfully using social media evidence (like a Facebook profile or post) from the opposing party as evidence in a trial. 

In a legal case, “damages” refers to the money that you are seeking in order to compensate you for some legal wrong that was committed by the other party.

Damages refers to the money that you are seeking in order to compensate you for some legal wrong that was committed by the other party. The person who claims damages must prove the amount of damages.