I know- to my dismay- that many of you, who have not studied law with the aim of passing exams and getting a degree and who have much less gone through the dehumanizing 2 years of articles, love throwing around your legal opinions and discuss law with us in a social setting.
It annoys me, but I cannot stop it.
I suppose making small talk with a lawyer is difficult for many of you, so the least I can do is make it a bit easier and make you sound a bit less uninformed...
So- today I will teach you the meaning of a word that we use a lot, but what does not mean what you think it does.
So- when you hear the word "discovery"- this is the meaning that you normally attach to it, right?
In our world, however, it has another meaning. To be honest I do not even bother to use this word when advising my clients as they can very easily end up confused. So- what does it mean?
Well- it means to reveal or make visible and available the evidentiary material other than your word that you intend to use at your trial or hearing to prove your case. Even though lawyers don't associate this term with criminal matters they are quick to ask for the case docket to prepare for trial. They also get the docket because our justice system is against ambushing a party to legal proceedings with evidence of which he was not informed well enough in advance.
In civil proceedings we don't just drop off copies of our supporting documents, photographs or the like, however. We first deliver an affidavit stating under oath what documents and other material we have in our possession that we intend to use. The other party may then ask to inspect any or all of these documents long before a trial date is in sight.
One good reason for this is that legal proceedings are costly and knowing in advance what evidence is against you helps you decide better on embarking on litigation that can result in you losing a lot of money. This also give you a good idea of how a matter can be settled out of court.
In many instances, though, matters do go on trial and then the litigants on both sides are prepared.
So- next time you hear lawyers talk about discovery you will at least not join in saying that you are also a member...
That's it from me for now. Take care until next time... :)
