The Editorial Board has previously addressed the question of civil litigation reform and the need to preserve access to the court for all litigants. To have truly open courts, all litigants must have their cases heard on the merits, regardless of the size of their case or their financial ability to afford a protracted legal battle.
Recent changes to the civil discovery rules proposed by the Federal Rules Committee are one possible approach to reduce the burden on certain types of litigants. These changes, which reduce the number of available interrogatories and depositions, have also been criticized for preventing plaintiffs in complex cases from obtaining information necessary to sustain their burden of proof. It appears, therefore, that reducing available discovery is a double-edged sword. It may help certain litigants achieve a less costly and faster resolution of a claim, while it may hinder others from fully pursuing their claims.
