Discovery In Federal Courts In Support Of Foreign Litigation: Lending A Helping Hand Or Legal Imperialism?

Authors

Edward D. Cavanagh, St. John's University School of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Federal Courts Law Review

Publication Date

2021

Volume

13

First Page

81

Abstract

(Excerpt)

For over a century and a half, Congress has authorized the federal courts to assist in the production of evidence for use in foreign tribunals. In 1948, these provisions were codified at 28 U.S.C. § 1782, which currently provides:

The district court of the district in which a person resides or is found may order him to give his testimony or statement or to produce a document or other thing for use in a proceeding in a foreign or international tribunal . . . upon the application of any interested person . . . .”

Historically, invocations for assistance under section 1782 have been “rare.” Indeed, one can fairly assert that until the latter part of the twentieth century, section 1782 was largely dormant. However, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s seminal Intel decision in 2004, requests for discovery in the United States from foreign sources—although comprising only a tiny percentage of federal dockets—have increased dramatically, quadrupling in the period 2005-2017. The federal courts have generally been very accommodating of these requests.

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Available at: https://www.fclr.org/article-list/discovery-in-federal-courts-in-support-of-foreign-litigation-lending-a-helping-hand-or-legal-imperialism/