Litigation Lawyers in Shawnee

"Civil procedure" refers to the wide variety of rules that regulate the process of civil litigation in Shawnee, Kansas. It does not deal with the substantive rights that the litigation system is meant to safeguard, just the process by which it protects them.

The civil procedure rules in Shawnee, Kansas are designed around a few simple goals for the civil litigation system: efficiency, accessibility, cost-effectiveness, and, most especially, fairness.

Shawnee, Kansas's civil procedure rules can get pretty confusing, however. They regulate every aspect of a civil action, from the filing of the complaint, to discovery, and all the way through trial and appeals.

Major Shawnee, Kansas Civil Procedure Issues

Complaint: In Shawnee, Kansas the initial step in suing somebody (after speaking with a lawyer to determine if you have a case) is typically filing a complaint. The complaint is also one of the most significant documents in the civil litigation process. By laying out the wrongs that the plaintiff alleges the defendant has committed, as well as the remedies that the plaintiff wants the court to provide, it can set the tone for the entire rest of the case.

Answer: For the defendant, the answer is typically the first document they file in a lawsuit. As the name suggests, it "answers" the plaintiff's complaint. The answer normally denies most, or all, of the allegations made by the plaintiff. If the allegations are factually correct, and the defendant knows this, the defendant might admit that the allegations are true, but because of extenuating circumstances, they should not be held liable. For instance, in a lawsuit for battery, a defendant might admit that they did strike the plaintiff, but claim that they were acting in self-defense, which would negate or weaken the plaintiff's case.

Discovery: Once the complaint and answer have been filed in a Shawnee, Kansas court, the next major civil procedure issue comes up. Discovery is the procedure in which both sides of the lawsuit are obligated to disclose obligated evidence to one another. The lawyers for each side can submit written questions, which the other party is required to answer under oath, unless the information is privileged. Each side can also request any relevant documents, physical evidence, and can conduct depositions of witnesses and parties to the lawsuit.

Trial: It's quite rare for lawsuits in Shawnee, Kansas to go to trial. Shawnee's civil procedure rules truly discourage trials, and alternatively have designed the system so that it's almost always more cost-effective to settle out of court. Nonetheless, if this is not possible, the matter will go to trial, where a judge and/or jury will decide the factual questions, and then award the appropriate relief (if any) to the prevailing party.

How Can a Shawnee, Kansas Lawyer Help?

If you're suing anyone, or are being sued, in Shawnee, Kansas, dealing with issues of civil procedure is going to be a fact of life for quite some time.

Because the rules of civil procedure in Shawnee, Kansas are intricate, it's smart to have the counsel of an efficient attorney through every step of the process.