Discovery is the factfinding process in civil litigation in which the parties to a lawsuit exchange requests for the production of documents and other tangible items (requests for production); written questions to be answered under oath (interrogatories); witness testimony to be provided by oral deposition; disclosures that may be required under the applicable rules without request from an opposing party; and requests or subpoenas to third-parties (who are not parties to the lawsuit) for the production of documents or tangible things, or the giving of testimony by oral deposition, for example.

The discovery process is one of the most important, time-consuming, and often expensive parts of civil litigation. The discovery process—including the scope of discovery requests, deadlines to respond, and privileges from responding—are usually governed by the state or jurisdiction’s rules of civil procedure or code of civil procedure. For example, in federal court discovery is governed by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

In Oklahoma, the discovery process in civil litigation is governed by the Oklahoma Discovery Code, which is found in Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes. This process allows parties to obtain evidence from each other through various means such as requests for production of documents, interrogatories (written questions to be answered under oath), and depositions (witness testimony given under oath before trial). Parties may also be required to make certain disclosures without a formal request from the opposing party. The scope and limits of discovery are outlined in these statutes, including deadlines for responses and assertions of privilege to protect certain information from being disclosed. The Oklahoma Discovery Code is designed to ensure that both parties have access to the necessary information to prepare their cases while protecting against abusive or overly burdensome discovery requests. In federal cases, the discovery process is similarly governed by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which provide a framework for the exchange of information in civil suits in federal courts.