Effectively managing prehearing procedure is an important skill to ensure that your hearing is efficient. A motion is an application to the court made by a litigant, requesting that the court decide a certain issue before the trial begins. The motion can affect the trial, venue, parties, evidence, or testimony. Discovery enables the parties to know before the trial begins what evidence may be presented. It is designed to prevent “trial by ambush,” where one side doesn’t learn of the other side’s evidence or witnesses until the hearing. This class will examine the most common motions and discovery tools and the principles that should guide your determinations.