Chambers Handbook for Judges - Federal Judicial Center

involved by scheduling times and places for discovery activities and
otherwise monitoring and supervising such proceedings.
A variety of motions may arise as a result of discovery proceedings,
including those
• to compel answers or other compliance with discovery rules;
• to obtain protective orders against undue harassment, unreasonable
demands, or disclosure of confidential or protected information;
• to obtain additional time to comply with discovery requests;
• to terminate a deposition;
• to pose objections to written interrogatories or other discovery
requests; and
• to impose sanctions for failure to comply with discovery requests.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26 prescribes general rules governing
discovery. Amendments to Rule 26 that went into effect on December
1, 1993, require parties to disclose to each other certain types of
information without waiting for a formal discovery request. These disclosures
must be exchanged prior to the initial Rule 16 conference. The
amended rule also requires parties to confer prior to the initial Rule 16
conference to develop a discovery plan, which they must submit to the
court prior to the conference. Amended Rule 26 permits each district
court and individual judge to decide whether to apply certain of its
disclosure requirements to cases filed in that court or before that judge.
Many of the discovery rules amended in 1993 allow exceptions to be
made by local rule, agreement of the parties, or court order. Chambers
staff should discuss with their judge which rules apply in their court.
In many courts, all motions pertaining to discovery are referred to a
magistrate judge, as is responsibility for overseeing discovery procedures
and ruling on discovery motions. The magistrate judge’s orders may be
appealed to the district judge.
38 Chambers Handbook for Judges’ Law Clerks and Secretaries