The Discovery Process in Civil Lawsuits

After a lawsuit is filed, both the plaintiff (the person suing) and the defendant (the person or company being sued) can engage in a process called discovery. Discovery is conducted before trial. The purpose of discovery is to allow a party to learn more about the pertinent facts of the case and the other party's evidence. The main tools used in the discovery process are depositions, interrogatories, and requests for documents.

United States Marshals Service

The United States Marshals Service is a federal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. U.S. Marshals are appointed by the President of the United States or the Attorney General of the United States. The mission of the U.S. Marshals is to protect the federal courts and to ensure the efficient operation of the judicial system.

Removal of Cases from State Court to Federal Court

Jurisdiction refers to the authority of a court to hear and decide a case. A federal court has subject matter jurisdiction in two broad categories of cases. The federal court has federal question jurisdiction, which is the authority to hear legal disputes involving the U.S. Constitution, federal laws, and treaties. The federal court also has diversity jurisdiction, which means lawsuits between two states or between citizens of two different states in a case in which at least $75,000 of damages is sought.

The Office of the Independent Counsel

Following the Watergate scandal, Congress passed the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (Ethics Act). The law created a Special Prosecutor (the name was later changed to Independent Counsel) to investigate possible crimes by high government officials. The Independent Counsel provision of the Ethics Act expired, and new Independent Counsel legislation that was passed in 1994 expired in 1999 and was not renewed. The Attorney General of the United States now has sole discretion to appoint an outside prosecutor.

The Common Law and Judicial Precedent

The common law developed from unwritten English law, which was based on tradition and custom. English common law is the basis for federal law and the law of all states, except Louisiana (whose law is based on the Napoleonic Code or the French Civil Code). The most important characteristic of common law is that it is judge-made law rather the law derived from constitutions, statutes, regulations and ordinances, which are legislative enactments. Under the common law system, current cases are decided using the precedents established by past judicial decisions.