Crane on Law by James Crane

I’m often asked about the status of electronic discovery rules in various state courts and how quickly the amended Federal Rules regarding ESI are likely to be adopted. The answer is a mixed bag, depending on the state. Some states were ahead of the Federal Rules (Texas and Mississippi). Other states have enacted e-discovery provisions to their state rules that are similar to the Federal Rules ( Arizona, Indiana, Idaho, Louisiana, New Jersey, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, and Utah). Thirteen other states are in the process of enacting e-discovery rules, the exact terms of which remain to be seen (Alaska, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia).

If your state is not listed here…then I don’t know of any actions being taken to update the e-discovery rules. If you hear something, let me know.

I'll look at specific state amendments in more depth in future postings. If I don’t get to your state quickly enough, shoot me an email and I’ll pass along the latest information I have.