Interrogatories are one of the tools available in Discovery. Interrogatories are written questions that require written responses. The answers provided are treated as though the answering party was testifying under oath inside the courtroom. This means that responses are able to be used as evidence by the other party at trial.
Most attorneys have standard interrogatories for particular types of cases, but the questions can be anything as long as they are relevant and designed to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. In a divorce case for example, the interrogatories can cover many topics. It’s common to ask about financial matters such as bank accounts, assets and debts. If there are children, then there likely will be interrogatories about child custody matters such as specific incidents, the party’s involvement with the child and the party’s mental and physical health. In any type of case, interrogatories can also ask about witnesses that know information relevant to the case.
Not every single interrogatory question is appropriate and requires an answer. Just as an attorney can object to questions asked in court, an attorney can note their objections to particular interrogatory questions.
Each side can only ask 30 interrogatories. If there is more information that either side would like to ask about, they must obtain permission to do so from the court and explain why additional interrogatories are necessary.