Litigation Lawyers in Baltimore County

A civil deposition in Baltimore County, Maryland occurs in many civil litigation cases, as part of the discovery process.

Discovery, in Baltimore County, Maryland is a very crucial step in the civil litigation process. It is when all of the relevant evidence is gathered by both sides, and, generally, each side must disclose that evidence to the other.

In Baltimore County, Maryland, one way to acquire relevant evidence is to ask persons involved in the dispute (both parties and witnesses) about their knowledge of the matter. This is done through a civil deposition. It is essentially a question and answer session between a lawyer, and a witness or party to the action. A lawyer for the other side is present, as well as a court reporter or videographer. The lawyer asks questions of the person being deposed, who must answer them under oath.

Conducting A Civil Deposition in Baltimore County, Maryland

Depositions are typically conducted in Baltimore County, Maryland if a person's testimony will take several days, or more, to deliver. By doing this before a trial, the jury can be presented just with the testimony that turns out to be relevant, saving everybody a good deal of time. It is also useful if there is any reason to suspect that the witness will be unable to show up in court.

Civil Depositions in Baltimore County, Maryland, can take a very long time to be completed, typically lasting several days, and sometimes going on for weeks. So, people who are called to give depositions in Baltimore County, Maryland should be prepared for some substantial inconvenience.

Because of this fact, the law in Baltimore County, Maryland allows witnesses who are appearing for depositions to be compensated for the expense associated with it. This includes reimbursement for gas, lodging, and food. They can also be paid a certain amount of money for every hour they testify, to compensate them for their time. However, this money can only be conditioned on the witness showing up and giving truthful testimony. Trying to condition it on the witness testifying in a specific way ceases to be compensation, and becomes bribery, which is a crime.

If you are called to a deposition in Baltimore County, Maryland, it's absolutely imperative that you answer all the questions truthfully, to the best of your knowledge. When testifying in a deposition, you are under oath, just as you would be in open court. Deliberately lying in a deposition is perjury, which is a serious crime.

How Can A Baltimore County, Maryland Lawyer Help?

If you're a party to a Baltimore County, Maryland lawsuit and are required to appear at a deposition, one would hope that you've already retained a lawyer by this stage in the proceedings. Your attorney will have a lot of advice for you, which you should of course follow.

If you're not a party to the case, but have relevant information, you might be subpoenaed to appear in a deposition. In this case, you probably don't need to hire a Baltimore County, Maryland litigation attorney, but it would not be a bad idea to seek out a brief consultation with one, to get an idea of what to expect.