With the term "discovery" we again arrive at a word that the legal profession of the world think is perfectly fine to steal from the plain english meaning of the word.
Well, not so fast.
Civilharassment.com includes in the rubric of discovery all the means a party can use to learn what has occurred. There are many methods to get information that will help your case or situation. This section gives some tips about how to get people to tell you what you need to know to help your case.
Of course, there is a very specific legal procedures via the Discovery Act procedures and motions. However, beware, we have not found case law that affirms a right to Discovery in a civil harassment hearing. But we have studied the situation and developed a theory that might create a "first impression" with the courts. see Discovery Act and 527.6
In practice, if one has time, police will supply information only by subpoena which takes about 20 days minimum. (Will one of our readers send us some citations about this?) See discussion in footnoote 11 of Thomas v. Quintero
Public Information Request
If you want to be serious but less formal than a subpoena and more formal than an over the counter verbal request, the following language will put the agency on notice that you know your rights and reserve the right to force delivery of documents that are public.
Police Reports
Every call to police dispatch (not the station, but the central dispatch number) is recorded on audio and a text record is typed up by the dispatcher. An "incident report" number will be assigned. The call is sent to a Deputy. …