NCJ Number
81214
Journal
Wayne Law Review Volume: 26 Dated: (November 1979) Pages: 47-57
Date Published
1979
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This paper explains the pressures being experienced by the Federal judicial system due to abuses of discovery, problems related to class action lawsuits, and increasing case backlogs and describes some of the efforts to deal with these pressures.
Abstract
In the Federal courts, discovery consists mainly of interrogatories to parties and oral depositions of both parties and witnesses, always conducted with both sides taking part. Written depositions, the production of documents, and physical examination of parties are also important. The overuse of discovery can only be explained by the profit motive. In one case, the first discovery event was the propounding of 12,000 can only be explained by 12,000 separate questions to the defendant. The current dissatisfaction with the litigative process centers largely around the abuse of discovery. Although a consensus exists that broad discovery should not be abandoned, various proposals have focused on narrowing its scope. Two likely changes are the use of early discovery conferences and the limiting of allowable interrogatories in the absence of judicial permission. The numbers of class actions increased rapidly following the 1966 redefinition of class actions. This increase produced much judicial hostility to such suits. As a result, the Supreme Court has imposed many technical and seemingly unnecessary limitations on class actions. One proposal for reform would allow the aggregation of several small claims in Federal courts under substantial restrictions. Another proposal is to allow the Attorney General to substitute for the private plaintiff to reduce the chance that the suit is being brought only because of the profit motive. The largest and most important institutional problems facing the courts are the clogging of the courts due to such factors as the increase in substantive law and the increasing inability of people to settle their differences without resorting to law. Responses to these problems include the legislation increasing the size of the Federal judiciary, the creation of a panel to transfer similar cases to a single district for all pretrial purposes, efforts to modify Federal jurisdiction, and the increased use of retired and visiting judges. Arbitration and other alternative methods of dispute resolution are also being increasingly used. Substantive law is also being modified to enable people to avoid the courts. Other desirable efforts would be the improved selection and monitoring of judges and better litigation training for law students. Footnotes are provided.