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How can lawyers use written questions during discovery?
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Procedural law
Justinian I, detail of a 6th-century mosaic at the Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy.
In the context of procedural law, lawyers use written questions—formally known as interrogatories—as a primary tool during the discovery phase of litigation.
These written questions are sent from one party to another to secure important facts and evidence before a trial begins. By requiring adversaries to respond to these inquiries under oath, lawyers can achieve several key objectives:1
- Case Preparation: They allow for more thorough preparation and presentation of a case.2
- Transparency: They help reduce the element of surprise by compelling the disclosure of information and evidence that the opposing side intends to rely upon.2
- Settlement: By making each party aware of the true value of a claim, these questions encourage pretrial settlement.2
- Efficiency: They assist in identifying and exposing insubstantial claims at an early stage, preventing them from proceeding to trial.2
In the United States, these procedures generally do not require prior court approval and typically occur in lawyers' offices, with judicial intervention only necessary if a dispute arises.2