A more thorough explanation:

Pretrial Discovery is a legal process that happens before a trial where parties exchange information about the evidence that will be presented in court. The goal of pretrial discovery is to make sure that everyone involved in a lawsuit has access to all the relevant facts. This helps ensure that the case is decided based on the facts, rather than whether facts have been hidden.

During pretrial discovery, each party can use different methods to get evidence from the other parties. Some common methods include:

• Deposition: a witness's sworn testimony given outside of court
• Interrogatory: a list of questions that one party sends to another party, which the recipient must answer under oath
• Request for Admission: a statement that a party affirms or denies under oath

In civil cases, pretrial discovery is governed by Rules 26 to 37 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The rules state that parties can obtain discovery regarding any nonprivileged matter that is relevant to any party's claim or defense. However, the discovery must be proportional to the needs of the case and consider six factors, such as the importance of the issues at stake and the parties' resources.

In criminal cases, pretrial discovery is generally governed by statute, legislative policy, or precedent. Some jurisdictions recognize that discovery is allowed under the Due Process Clause, but they disagree on the degree to which pretrial discovery is allowed.

For example, in the Western District of New York, a defendant has a pretrial discovery right "to specific exculpatory evidence which is material either to guilt or punishment" under the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause. This means that the defendant can request evidence that could prove their innocence or reduce their punishment.

On the other hand, in Florida, there is no constitutional right to discovery in a criminal case. However, defendants do have a right to pretrial discovery under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.220(b). This means that defendants can request evidence that could help their case, but they don't have a general right to access all the information in the state's files.

These examples illustrate how pretrial discovery can vary depending on the jurisdiction and the type of case. However, the overall goal is to make sure that everyone involved in a lawsuit has access to all the relevant facts.