civil-procedure discovery new-hampshire
Counterparty fails to respond to discovery, should I make another pleading or object at trial?
<p>I have a civil trial coming up. I have been accused of speeding in a motor vehicle and plan to defend myself against this false charge.</p>

<p>I made a motion for discovery which was for very basic information about the event, essentially a description of how the trooper determined that I was speeding. The court granted my motion and the trooper has received it and signed for it, however the trooper did not provide me with a description of his method and, in fact, told me during a pre-trial conference that he would not provide me with such a "narrative".</p>

<p>Is it my best strategy to simply go to trial and object at the trial that the prosecution has failed to comply with the motion for discovery, or do I need to make an additional pleading ahead of time?</p>

<p>If I make a pleading, there is the risk the trooper might take the motion more seriously and provide the requested information. However, if I go to court directly, I am concerned the judge might say, "Well, you needed to file pleading XYZ with the court ahead of time if you wanted complain about the non-compliance with discovery."</p>

<p>So, the basic question here is a point of law: if a party fails to comply with a granted motion of discovery in a civil/administrative trial, does an additional pleading of some kind need to be made ahead of time, or will the failure to comply automatically become grounds for dismissal at trial?</p>

<p>Convention in U.S. process is to:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Attempt "in good faith" to "meet or confer" with the opposing party to try to resolve the discovery dispute directly.</p></li>
<li><p>Failing step #1, file a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_to_compel" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Motion to Compel</a> with the court.  Rules of Civil Procedure (e.g., <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_37" rel="nofollow noreferrer">FRCP 37</a>) typically have strict requirements for filing such motions.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Judges generally frown upon discovery disputes lingering until the beginning of a trial.  Which means the outcome of an objection or motion <em>in limine</em> on such matters can be abrupt and unpredictable.  If the judge is inclined to side with the party requesting the particular discovery:</p>

<ul>
<li>He will most likely issue an order compelling compliance and continue the case (i.e., reschedule the hearing for a later date that allows time for compliance with its order).</li>
<li>He could also grant or unilaterally impose sanctions if he feels the non-responsive party's behavior is "dilatory, obdurate or vexatious."</li>
<li>A judge in a very bad mood could conceivably dismiss the case with prejudice or grant a summary judgment against the recalcitrant party.</li>
</ul>

<p>However if the judge concludes that the party requesting discovery was insufficiently diligent, or that the discovery is not reasonable or essential to the trial, he will probably overrule any objection and let the trial proceed.</p>
