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When can a court require a physical or psychological examination 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, a court may require a physical or psychological examination during the discovery phase when a party’s mental or physical condition is directly at issue in the case.1
This form of discovery is a specific mechanism used to ensure that relevant evidence regarding a party's health or state of mind is available for the proceedings. While extensive discovery practices are a hallmark of U.S. civil procedure, it is important to note that such procedures are significantly more restricted in many other common-law and civil-law systems, where the scope of pretrial information exchange varies considerably by jurisdiction.1