Gale Encyclopedia of American Law Volume 2 P43 fully illuminates today's leading cases, major statutes, legal terms and concepts, notable persons involved with the law, important documents and more. Legal issues are fully discussed in easy-to-understand language, including such high-profile topics as the Americans with Disabilities Act, capital punishment, domestic violence, gay and lesbian rights, physician-assisted suicide and thousands more. | 408 CIVIL PROCEDURE In addition to jurisdiction the plaintiff must also consider venue. Venue is the term describing the particular county or geographical area in which a court with jurisdiction may hear and determine a case. The plaintiff makes a decision on venue after deciding whether to file suit in state or federal court. For example if a plaintiff decides to file suit in state court and has settled on a particular state the plaintiff must decide in which county to file suit. The overriding consideration in determining the best venue in a case is the convenience to the parties. Once the plaintiff determines where to file the complaint the plaintiff must prepare pleadings and motions. Pleadings are the plaintiff s initial allegations and the defendant s responses to those allegations. Motions are requests made by the parties for a specific order by the court. Courts usually schedule pretrial conferences to review and rule on pleadings and motions sort out preliminary issues and prepare a case for trial. Before a case can proceed the court must determine whether the plaintiff has standing to bring the suit. In order to hear the suit the court must find that the plaintiff has some legally protectible tangible interest in the outcome of the litigation. Other plaintiffs may join the original plaintiff if they seek the same relief concerning the same transaction or event and the complaints involve a common question of law or fact. This is called joinder. In some cases joinder may be compulsory. Under Rule 19 a person must be joined if 1 complete relief cannot be accorded to the parties without joining the missing person or 2 the missing person claims an interest in the action and absence from the suit will impair that person s ability to protect the interest or absence would subject the parties to multiple or inconsistent obligations regarding the matter of the suit. Both plaintiffs and defendants may be ordered by the court to join a suit. The court must also .
