Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in Illinois
Interrogatories
During a civil case, when the plantiff & defendant answer interrogatorries (before the deposition or court) is it ok to show these questions and answers to other people, are these documents confidential or public?
Thank you.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Interrogatories
With respect to you question & the response from Mr. Aspinwall, actually interrogatories are not filed in court and, therefore, they are not technically part of the court record.
If you were served with interrogatories, they are merely written questions posed by your opponent. You are free to discuss those questions with others (unless there is some sort of confidentiality order in place but, even if that were the situation, it is highly unlikely that such confidentiality order would preclude disclosure of interrogatory questions -- unless the questions themselves implicated some sort of confidential information).
In crafting your answers to interrogatories, your DRAFT responses -- the ones you first write down before you finalize & send them to your opponent -- may be protected under a work product doctrine if you have not already shared the information with others. Absent a confidentiality order, you are free to disclose your final answers with anyone w/out negative repurcussions.
I hope that helps.
-- Kenneth J. Ashman; Ashman Law Offices, LLC; [email protected]
Re: Interrogatories
Unless there is a specific provision for confidentiality, all such materials in a civil lawsuit are public information. Unless there is a court order or rule to the contrary in your case, disclosing or furnishing copies of public information which are a part of the court's file to others is permitted.