West's Encyclopedia of American Law | Discovery

A category of procedural devices employed by a party to a civil or criminal action, prior to trial, to require the adverse party to disclose information that is essential for the preparation of the requesting party's case and that the other party alone knows or possesses.

Civil Procedure

Discovery devices used in civil lawsuits are derived from the practice rules of EQUITY, which gave a party the right to compel an adverse party to disclose material facts and documents that established a CAUSE OF ACTION. The federal rules of CIVIL PROCEDURE have supplanted the traditional equity rules by regulating discovery in federal court proceedings. State laws governing the procedure for civil lawsuits, many of...