The Pretrial Practice & Discovery Committee is dedicated to enhancing the substantive knowledge of its members about a wide range of Pretrial Practice & Discovery issues. It keeps members abreast of legislative proposals, rule changes, and recent court decisions. To take full advantage of these benefits, we invite you to become involved in our subcommittees.

The Committee operates through its subcommittees, each of which focuses on a particular substantive or procedural topic, or which keeps the membership informed about recent developments in the law. With the help of members like you, the subcommittees can provide our membership with more in-depth information on a more frequent basis, especially in fast-growing and cutting-edge areas such as electronic discovery. Being involved also gives you the opportunity to network with some of the country's best and brightest litigators concerning topics that affect your practice every day.

Getting involved is easy! We will contact you with information about current projects. We look forward to working with you!

We hope you will take a moment to explore the Committee's latest newsletter, featuring articles on motions to dismiss, electronic discovery and drafting interrogatories. Additional articles can be found in the newsletter archive.

On May 21, 2007, the Supreme Court decided Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 127 S. Ct., in which it considered “what a plaintiff must plead in order to state a claim under § 1 of the Sherman Act.” Relying on Twombly, defendants in the Pressure Sensitive Labelstock Antitrust MDL litigation moved to dismiss the claims asserted against them in Plaintiffs’ Second Amended and Consolidated Class Action Complaint.

By a 7-2 vote on March 19, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court found that prosecutor Jim Williams improperly excluded blacks from the jury that convicted Allen Snyder of killing his estranged wife’s companion. Snyder is black and the jurors were white. Justice Alito, writing for the majority, said the trial judge should have blocked Williams from striking a black juror.

By a 6-3 vote on March 25, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court held that President Bush overstepped his authority when he ordered a Texas court to reopen the case of Jose Ernesto Medellin, a Mexican citizen whom police prevented from consulting with Mexican diplomats, as provided by international treaty. Medellin was arrested a few days after the killings of Jennifer Ertman, 14, and Elizabeth Pena, 16, in June 1993.