For the clarification of the relations in the litigation, what may the court require a party to produce, and whose possession does that reach?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
For this practice exercise, the court's file is read for the paper ordering production, the wording naming each document or thing required, and the list of papers or things the party already holds. A list of the documents the party cites in its submissions shows what the order may name, and the papers already on the court's file show which production is still outstanding.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading follows the item's own wording: the court may require production of litigation documents, documents cited in the litigation, and other things, but only those the party holds, and it does so for the purpose of making the relations in the litigation clear.
Another reading reads the item together with the item requiring retention: what a party submits may then be retained by the court, so a paper sent in answer to the order may cease to be in the party's keeping, and the provision does not say how the court chooses among these courses.
Your judgment
When the paper the court names is a copy the party alone holds, what could show in the file why the original was not sought instead?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to change what production may reach or whose possession it covers, or if a court decision explains how the retention item applies to a paper produced under this item.