Deck 8: Overview of the Discovery Process

Question 1

If Tricor refuses to answer interrogatories, sanctions may be entered against both Tricor and its attorneys.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Sanderson's former boss may destroy internal personnel records reflecting that Sanderson was an outstanding employee.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The courts in the United States provide the same level of security for ESI as afforded by the European Union.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

ESI includes most computer-generated records but excludes e-mail files.

Question 5

Interrogatories directed to Tricor are an inexpensive discovery tool.

Question 6

An unethical discovery tactic is ________.

A) destruction of a damaging document by an attorney
B) falsifying evidence or helping someone else falsify evidence
C) making a discovery request that is unwarranted or requesting much more information than is really necessary for the case
D) All of these choices.

Question 7

Depositions are ________.

A) written questions to a party that require written answers under oath
B) the oral or written testimony of a party or witness given under oath outside a courtroom
C) the admission of truth concerning certain facts or the genuineness of a document
D) a request for the inspection or duplication of documents or other materials that are relevant to the subject matter of the litigation

Question 8

Sanctions for failure to comply with discovery requests are permitted against either or both the attorney and the client.

Question 9

One of the primary objectives of discovery is to prevent one of the parties from winning the lawsuit by surprise or trickery.

Question 10

Clawback agreements were authorized by the new amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure because the complicated nature of ESI makes the inadvertent revelation of privileged information more likely.

Question 11

Rule 502 of the Federal Rules of Evidence is designed to protect only the unintentional waiver of the attorney-client privilege during document production.

Question 12

If a party still refuses to comply after an order compelling cooperation is issued, the court can levy certain sanctions against the noncomplying party.

Question 13

The attorney-client privilege may be lost or waived by Sanderson if she did not intend that a communication to her attorney be confidential.

Question 14

Although the confessor-penitent privilege belongs to the penitent, the law also protects a clergy member who has taken a religious oath not to reveal the content of counseling sessions.

Question 15

Purposes of discovery include ________.

A) preventing one of the parties from winning the lawsuit by surprise or trickery
B) determining the truth or the falseness of the alleged facts that form the basis of the suit
C) examining the facts and weighing the advisability of proceeding with the case or settling early
D) All of these choices.

Question 16

Discovery is the legal process by which the parties to a lawsuit search for relevant facts.

Question 17

A relatively inexpensive type of discovery is the ________.

A) oral deposition
B) interrogatory
C) request for production
D) request for a physical or mental examination

Question 18

Limits on the discovery process include ________.

A) the attorney-client privilege
B) the work product privilege
C) the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination
D) All of these choices.

Question 19

Any law firm involved in multi-jurisdictional (MJD) cases has an increased danger of inadvertently losing the protection granted by the attorney-client privilege.

Question 20

The decision to assert the attorney-client privilege belongs to Sanderson's attorney.

Question 21

The common interest privilege protects written notes, printed memos, and ________ exchanged among attorneys whose clients have a common interest.

Question 22

The work product privilege protects letters, memos, documents, records, and other tangible items that have been produced in anticipation of ________.

Question 23

Sanctions against parties who refuse to comply with production include ________.

A) dismissal of the action or granting of a default judgment
B) the granting of reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees, caused by the failure to cooperate
C) a contempt of court ruling
D) All of these choices.

Question 24

A meeting held between the judge and counsel for all parties prior to trial is known as a(n) ________.

Question 25

The privilege against self-incrimination is found in the ________ Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Question 26

The attorney-client privilege is a privilege that belongs to the ________.

Question 27

Mutual disclosure of certain information has been mandated in civil lawsuits in federal court by Federal Rule ________.

Question 28

During the discovery stage in a lawsuit, it is important for the paralegal to understand that the term computer includes ________.

A) desktop PCs
B) laptops
C) PDAs
D) All of these choices.

Question 29

The attorney-client privilege may be lost or waived by the client ________.

A) if the client does not intend the communication to be confidential
B) if the client discloses the communication to others or if a third party not related to the client is present during an attorney-client discussion
C) if in a multi-jurisdictional case, an associate attorney from a foreign nation owes loyalty to the nation rather than to the client
D) All of these choices.

Question 30

A strategy that employs certain processes to retrieve, examine, analyze, and authenticate ESI is known as ________.

Question 31

The final decision to assert the attorney-client privilege remains with ________.

A) the client
B) the attorney
C) the court
D) Either a or b.

Question 32

The privilege against self-incrimination is specifically aimed at self-testimony in ________ cases.

Question 33

The legal process by which the parties to a lawsuit search for facts relevant to a particular case is known as ________.

Question 34

The act of making known that which was unknown or not fully known is referred to as ________.