In legal writing, can the word "discovery" be used as a verb?

Forums: Legal, English, Grammar, Law, Clerical
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As in the following example: "However, [Defendant] is entitled to discovery the evidence which supports [Plaintiff's] case." I'm not sure if this is just some arcane usage of the word that I'm unfamiliar with or if it's simply a typo.

Also, I apologize if I didn't ask this correctly; I meant to put it in the "English" or "Grammar" sections, but I couldn't figure out how to direct it. This is my first post on the site... heh.

Thanks in advance

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Type: Question • Score: 3 • Views: 680 • Replies: 6

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@BartlebyInk,

Welcome to Able2know, and your first post is fine. You did the correct thing putting the English and Grammar tags on your post. We don't really have "sections" we have tags.

"Discovery" is a noun or an adjective. The verb is "discover".

I think the phrase "The defendant is entitled to discovery." is correct in a legal context (I am not a lawyer, but I did use the term 'discovery' this way in my divorce). But the complete phrase "The defendant is entitled to discovery the evidence... is wrong. I have never heard of this usage, I think it is an error.

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@maxdancona,

Neither have I.

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@BartlebyInk,

Max is right; the extra y is just an error.

Welcome to A2K!

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No it is not correct. The correct phrase is - "The defendant is entitled to discover the evidence.

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@BartlebyInk,

Not in this country.
Not by a long chalk.
No way, Jose.

The defendant is entitled to disclosure of the evidence which supports the plaintiff's case.

It looks (sounds) like an error in transcription to me.

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It is an error! and it also sounds odd and looks strange as well......

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In legal writing, can the word "discovery" be used as a verb?

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