If you CHOOSE NOT to answer his questions or if you refuse to answer selected questions, the defense lawyer will ask the judge to force you or compel you to answer them. If you fail to answer those questions, assuming they are phrased in an appropriate way, then the judge will likely threaten to dismiss your entire lawsuit!
Full Answer
Answer to Motion to Compel. The judge will apply the rules and standards of the jurisdiction to determine whether the evidence should be turned over. If the motion to compel is granted, the opposing party may choose to appeal that ruling or to turn over the evidence immediately.
There’s one reason and one reason only that an attorney is before a judge. You are there to be an advocate for your client’s position.
For a court to take most actions on an issue that is in dispute, either party in a case must ask the court to decide on that issue. When a plaintiff, prosecutor, or defendant asks the court or judge to rule on a specific issue, that request is known as a motion.
“In my experience, a good lawyer always finds every opportunity to keep a case from being decided by a judge, and only relents on trying a case before the bench when all alternatives have been exhausted,” attorney, Jason Cruz says.
Answer: A motion to compel discovery in a criminal case is a formal request to the Judge on the case to intervene in the pretrial stage and order disclosure of evidence the government intends to use at trial.
A motion to compel asks the court to enforce a request for information relevant to a case. Here is a general sequence of events leading up to the filing of a motion to compel: The lawsuit officially begins when the Plaintiff initiates a civil action against the Defendant.
When that happens, a party can file a motion to compel, asking the Court to order the opposing party to produce the contested documents or information. If a motion to compel is granted and the Court orders the information produced, failing to comply with that order can lead to serious consequences.
What is a motion to compel hearing. A motion to compel hearing is the process where a party to a lawsuit demands the communication or disclosure of evidence from another party or third-party and seeks assistance from the court.
A motion to compel asks the court to order either the opposing party or a third party to take some action. This sort of motion most commonly deals with discovery disputes, when a party who has propounded discovery to either the opposing party or a third party believes that the discovery responses are insufficient.
If a party fails to comply with a request for disclosure, the applicant may apply to court to compel disclosure, failing which the court may strike out the defence, dismiss the claim or grant the applicant further relief.
A motion to compel a response to discovery must include:the nature of the questions or request at issue;the response or objections of the party upon whom the request was served;arguments in support of the motion; and.More items...•
After the motion is filed, the person to be examined, and all parties to the case, must be formally served with notice of the hearing that will determine whether or not the order is granted. If granted, the order must be in writing and specify a time, place, manner, conditions and scope of the examinations.
Definition. A motion to compel arbitration is a request made to a court in a pending litigation matter to force a party to submit the dispute to arbitration.
You need to give the court a reason to deny the other side's motion to compel. There are many different reasons you could give. Take out your Response to the discovery request. You should have identified reasons in your Response for why you weren't turning over certain information.
Motion for Sanctions – If the court issues an order compelling discovery, and the party fails to comply with that order, then the court may sanction the party in numerous ways such as refusing to let in the party's evidence at trial, dismissing their lawsuit, or striking their defense to a lawsuit, and imposing ...
If a spouse fails to produce any mandatory disclosures or discovery requested of him or her, the other spouse may serve a Subpoena Duces Tecum (a subpoena seeking documents) directly to the bank, investment, or lending institution where the spouse has accounts to obtain the documents.
Courts are loathe to deal with discovery conflicts between parties. It is expected that attorneys and parties will be able to work out differences...
Within a designated amount of time, the opposing party must answer the motion to compel. The opponent may cite attorney-client privilege, undue emb...
Some states allow parties to appeal a trial court's decision to grant or deny a motion to compel. These are known as "interlocutory appeals," as th...
Another reason a Motion to Compel might be filed is a third party or witness’ refusal to comply with a subpoena, or refusal to testify in a deposition. Procedures for issuing a subpoena, whether for a person to appear for deposition, or for a person to provide copies of documents, are clearly outlined in the jurisdiction’s Rules of Court.
Whichever party wins at a motion to compel hearing is likely to be awarded some type of sanctions, such as the payment of attorney’s fees, some other monetary fine, or the case might even be dismissed, or some portion of it excluded.
Related Legal Terms and Issues 1 Ex Parte – An action in a legal proceeding brought about by one party, without the participation or presence of the opposition. 2 Rules of Court – The body of law that specifies the rules and standards followed by the court when adjudicating civil lawsuits, or criminal trials. 3 Sanctions – Penalties imposed by the court to create incentive to obey the law, or to comply with the rules and regulations.
The most commonly used include: Deposition – A legal proceeding outside court in which a party to the legal action, or a witness, is asked questions, to which he must respond under oath. Interrogatories – Written questions sent to one party to a legal action which must be answered in writing, under oath.
Motion to Dismiss – a request for the court to dismiss the lawsuit or legal action without a decision in favor of either party. Motion for Modification – a request that the court change, or “modify,” a previously made order of the court, such as a child custody order. Motion for Sanctions – a request that the court impose sanctions, ...
What is a Motion. In the U.S., a motion is a tool used to ask the court to make a decision on something. A motion can be filed at any point during a legal action, when something pertaining to the case itself is disputed.
On February 19, 2016, the DOJ filed a Motion to Compel compliance with the February 16 order. Both in the motion, and at the subsequent hearing, the government tirelessly describes to the court the necessity for the information in Farook’s phone, in their investigation into the terrorist attack.
Most family courts will not allow a trial until mediation takes place.
That request is made in a motion to compel mediation. Divorce mediation usually results in an agreement. The first step to making mediation happen if one party will not attend voluntarily is a motion to compel mediation. If the motion is granted, the judge will sign an Order Compelling Mediation or an Order to Mediate.
If the motion is granted, the judge will sign an Order Compelling Mediation or an Order to Mediate. That order usually appoints a specific mediator and orders the parties to contact the mediator and mediate by a specific date.
Most judges require mediation before a contested family law hearing or a trial because it is so successful. Most mediations result in a mediated settlement agreement, or “M.S.A.”. If mediation is not required by the judge, it can still be ordered. Even the few judges who do not require mediation will usually order it if requested.
That enables the judge to order each side to be at a mediator’s office at a particular time. If the other side does not show up, the trial may proceed as planned. The judge will probably order the side who did not show up to pay the attorney’s fees and mediator fee of the one who did.
The judge will most likely award attorney’s fees to the person who showed up to mediate. Even if the court does not require mediation, most people do not want a trial. Most cases that go to mediation get resolved there. A person might want it ordered if the other side will not go voluntarily.
There is no negotiation in court. Some of what you want the judge to consider might not be admissible in court. The judge might never know some information you consider important. There are no rules of evidence or procedure at mediation. Everything can be discussed and, in most cases, resolved at mediation.
As noted above, motions to compel can be used during the discovery process to ensure that both parties have full access to the facts of the case. For example, if the plaintiff refuses to answer questions in a deposition, the defendant may file a motion to compel the plaintiff to answer those questions.
A number of different motions can be used to ensure that both sides are able to handle the discovery process to the best of their abilities. If the other party fails to respond to a request for information, for example, then a motion to compel discovery of that information could force that party to provide a response.
This motion is often filed if new evidence has come to light either proving the defendant’s innocence or exposing a serious flaw in the prosecution’s case. A motion for nolle prosequi is basically the prosecution asking that the judge throw out the case because the defendant is either innocent or there is clearly not enough evidence to lead to a conviction.
procedural law. The moving party in such a case may concede that the facts of the case are true, but that the case should nonetheless be dismissed because there is no legal issue presented in those facts that the court can rule on.
Another motion that shares features with a motion for summary judgment and a motion to dismiss, a motion for a directed verdict is one whereby one party (in this case, the defense) asks the court to end the case. A motion for a directed verdict is made by the defense after the prosecution has already rested its case.
Motion for summary judgment. A motion for summary judgment is perhaps the most frequently made motion. While not always available in all cases, the motion for summary judgment is made before the trial begins. This motion asks the judge to make a decision on the case without going to trial. Such a motion can only occur if none of the facts ...
A motion to dismiss, which is more popularly known as “throwing out” a case, is requested when one side (usually the defendant) contends that the plaintiff’s claim is not one on which the court can rule. In other words, when a motion to dismiss happens, the moving party is not contesting the facts as presented by the other party, ...
to hand the judge a document, the judge does not have to accept what the lawyer wants to hand the judge, and so one must ask whether the judge will accept the document and whether the judge will grant the lawyer permission to approach and hand the judge the document. Sometimes the judge will agree to accept the document, but still ask that you hand the document to his/her bailiff or clerk to give it to the judge, rather than you handing it to the judge directly.
If anyone who supports non-representation of the criminal defendant, then please offer some reasons for the stance — otherwise keep quiet and keep the opinions private, preferably on Sunday in church.
A bench conference may also be used in a non-jury setting for the judge to briefly speak with the attorneys outside the hearing of the rest of the courtroom. If the attorney is requesting a bench conference, it may be to avoid the hearing of a witness in the courtroom, or persons in the gallery. It may be to simply resolve a quick technical point or establish the order of witnesses.
The first, again, is courtesy. It respects the authority of the judge to control the procedure and decorum of the courtroom. Before you just walk up to the judge and dump a bunch of documents in his lap, it’s respectful to ask first.
If the attorney is asking to approach a witness, opposing counsel table, or essentially anyone except for the bench, the primary reason is courtesy.
to come closer to the witness for the purpose of speaking to a witness who is hard of hearing, or to point out a particular part of a document you want the witness to read or comment on, or to operate a machine or demonstrative exhibit, etc., the judge does not have to allow such a thing and may prefer that you stay put at the rostrum or counsel table, and so one must ask permission to approach the witness first.
the judicial process is the generally accepted method of determining guilt or innocent, and that method requires a prosecution and a defence.
If the judge feels you are being disrespectful to anyone, you will feel the negative impact from that. Whatever you do, don't interrupt the judge when he/she is speaking. 2. How you dress determines what I think about you.
4. Don't insult my intelligence. If you are representing yourself in your divorce, you may be an accomplished, intelligent person. You may not be.
That being said, here are five things your divorce judge wants to tell you, but doesn't: 1. Don't be disrespectful to your spouse, me or my staff. A courtroom is a formal place. When you're in court, you need to be mindful of that at all times. Even when you don't think the judge is paying attention to you, he/she is.
Depending on how contentious your divorce is, you may get to appear before your judge a few times, or more times than you care to count.
Many contested divorces involve sensitive issues and high emotions on both sides. If children are involved, that takes it up another level. Judges want the parties to negotiate and settle the issues between themselves. Judges don't want to decide how you live your life for you.
Judges wear a trendy black robe and sit higher than everyone else, but in the end they are just a person, like you and me. That means, like you and me, they have opinions, biases and personal drama that they deal with on a regular basis.
Judges don't want to decide how you live your life for you. But, you have to be reasonable. If one party files a motion for relief, whether for financial support or primary custody, if the judge feels that you are being unreasonable, you will not get the results you want.
“If you want to improve your chances of securing the best lawyer to take your case, you need to prepare before you meet them,” advises attorney Stephen Babcock. “Get your story, facts, and proof together well before your first meeting.” This not only ensures that you understand your own needs, but it helps a good lawyer to ascertain whether he or she can actually help you. “We want the best clients too. Proving you’re organized and reliable helps us.”
When disputes arise, a person’s first inclination is often to call a lawyer, attorney Randolph Rice tells Reader’s Digest. But there are many situations in which hiring a lawyer is the last thing you should do. Says Rice, ideally, everyone would resolve disputes without lawyering up. “Getting lawyers involved can escalate tensions and delay resolution, all at great time and expense.” Take it from an attorney—before hiring one, consider if there are other ways to resolve your dispute. Maybe start by checking out these hilarious lawyer jokes.
“ Winning cases can be lost because of a client who lies or exaggerates just as easily as because of a lawyer who tells the client what the client wants to hear instead of what is true.” So when dealing with attorneys, don’t just look for honesty—be honest.
In fact, a lawyer should try to stay out of court. “In my experience, a good lawyer always finds every opportunity to keep a case from being decided by a judge, and only relents on trying a case before the bench when all alternatives have been exhausted,” attorney, Jason Cruz says.
On reading a demand letter, the other person will often say, “this isn’t worth the trouble” and they quickly settle. But here’s a secret from Knight: You don’t need a lawyer to write a demand letter. You can do it yourself. Just make it look as formal as possible, and you may find your dispute goes away—no charge to you.
It’s not as hard as you might think, according to attorney Randall M. Kessler, author of Divorce: Protect Yourself, Your Kids and Your Future. “Shop around and trust your instincts,” he advises. “Does the lawyer listen to you? Do they explain things in a way you can understand? And are they willing to discuss fees and costs? The person you hire will need to be someone you trust and believe in, so be sure you feel very good about them from the start.”
If you feel helpless when faced with an insurance denial, please know that you might be able to appeal with the help of a qualified lawyer, says David Himelfarb, attorney. Insurance companies routinely deny long-term disability claims, for example, particularly because it’s assumed that most people don’t have access to reputable attorneys to challenge the denial. “This is where intricate knowledge of the legal and insurance process, as well as the right team of experts to prove the claim, can reverse the odds.”