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 Connecticut, the discovery process in civil litigation is governed by the Connecticut Practice Book, which outlines the rules and procedures for state courts. The discovery process allows parties to obtain evidence from each other to prepare for trial, and it includes various methods 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 of discovery is generally broad, allowing parties to obtain any information that is not privileged and is reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. However, there are limits to prevent abuse of the discovery process, such as protections for privileged communications and the court's power to limit discovery that is overly burdensome or harassing. Deadlines for responding to discovery requests are set by the rules and by court order. 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 cases in federal courts.