Nature of assignment: No aspect of modern civil litigation is more heavily criticized than the discovery process. We spent two modules exploring that process in federal court, basing our study on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) and their applications. We have studied some recent reform proposals to the rules, as well as looking at a host of potential problems with discovery.
Please write a paper of between five and seven double-spaced pages. In your paper, describe and defend one or more reforms that you would propose in order to improve the discovery process in federal civil litigation. Make sure that you clearly identify the changes that you would make to the existing discovery process and explain why the changes that you identify would improve that process.
Your paper must propose one or more changes or reforms to the existing federal discovery process – you should not simply describe aspects of the system that are already in place.
Furthermore, you are free to write a paper about only one proposed reform, or you may write about more than one proposal. However, I recommend that you do not spread yourself too thin by trying to write about too many topics or problems. An approach that tries to cover too much ground will likely receive a lower grade because it will be unable to fully explain and defend the changes that are being proposed within the two to the three-single-spaced page limit.
In writing your paper, you are free to consult any outside material you wish, as well as any of the required or optional readings. However, you do not need to do outside research – it is very possible to receive a high grade on the assignment based only on the assigned lectures and readings.
Grading: Your grade will be based primarily on how well you describe and defend one or more reforms to the federal discovery process. I of course will not grade you based on whether or not I personally agree with your approach to discovery or the problems you are trying to solve. Nor does it matter whether you have picked the most “important” problems on which to work. So do not worry about whether you are picking the most “earth-shaking” issues with the discovery process.
Instead, I want to see thoughtful analyses that identify and defend clear reform proposals. A good answer will thus demonstrate an understanding of how discovery fits into the broader civil litigation process, as well as a solid grasp of how discovery works and what some of its weak points are.
Of course, the organization and clarity of your writing will also affect your grade.
