Litigation Lawyers in Grand Forks

Civil depositions happen during civil litigation in Grand Forks, North Dakota. They are part of the discovery procedure.

"Discovery" is a procedure that happens before a trial in Grand Forks, North Dakota. During the discovery process, both sides are obligated to make relevant information available to each other.

One way to obtain this information in Grand Forks, North Dakota is to conduct a deposition. A deposition, at its core, is a fairly simple process. A deposition is a question and answer session conducted outside the courtroom. Usually, it takes place in the office space of an attorney representing one of the parties. There are a few people who are almost always present at the deposition: there's the person being deposed, the lawyer who is going to be asking the questions, a lawyer representing the other side of the lawsuit, who can object to any questions being asked (a judge can rule on the objections later), and a court reporter or video recorder, to ensure that the testimony ends up on the record.

Conducting A Civil Deposition in Grand Forks, North Dakota

Depositions in Grand Forks, North Dakota are meant to get verbal testimony on the record and into evidence, when there is concern that the individual being deposed might be unable to show up and testify at trial, or their testimony will take far too long for them to testify at trial.

Grand Forks, North Dakota civil depositions can go on for a long time - sometimes going for a week or more. If you get subpoenaed to provide your testimony in a Grand Forks, North Dakota civil deposition, this could prove to be incredibly inconvenient.

Thus, Grand Forks, North Dakota's civil procedure rules allow a person to be compensated for the time and money they spend in appearing at a deposition. If the witness lives far away from the location of the deposition, as is occasionally the case in large trials, they can be reimbursed for travel and lodging expenses, and compensated for their time. However, this money cannot be used to influence HOW they testify, just to mitigate the inconvenience linked with testifying.

If you are called to a deposition in Grand Forks, North Dakota, it's absolutely essential 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 Grand Forks, North Dakota Lawyer Help?

If you are the defendant or plaintiff in a lawsuit, chances are good that you'll have to appear in a deposition. You should, by this time, already be represented by a Grand Forks, North Dakota civil litigation attorney. You should do whatever they tell you to do (unless, of course, they tell you to lie, in that case you should find a new lawyer).

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 likely don't need to hire a Grand Forks, North Dakota 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.