Litigation Lawyers in Murrysville

Depositions are part of the discovery procedure in Murrysville, Pennsylvania civil litigation.

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

In Murrysville, Pennsylvania, one way to receive this information is to find the people involved in the dispute (whether they're witnesses or parties), and ask them questions about the issues you believe them to have knowledge of. A civil deposition is normally a pretty simple process: the person being deposed is sworn in (they are under oath, just as if they were in a courtroom). Because the whole point of a deposition is to get testimony on the record, a stenographer or video technician will also be present, recording the whole deposition. The lawyer then asks questions of the witness, and the lawyers for the other side are able to object to particular lines of questioning, if they wish.

Conducting A Civil Deposition in Murrysville, Pennsylvania

Depositions in Murrysville, Pennsylvania 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.

It should not be any shock, then, that civil depositions in Murrysville, Pennsylvania can go on for a very long time. If you are contacted to appear in a deposition in Murrysville, Pennsylvania, this can be a massive headache.

To help mitigate this inconvenience, Murrysville, Pennsylvania authorizes witnesses who are appearing in depositions to be paid a set amount of money for their time, and reimbursed for travel expenses. However, if there is any evidence that this money is being used to influence a witness' testimony, there is going to be a significant problem: this would amount bribery, and it is a serious offense.

If you are called to a deposition in Murrysville, Pennsylvania, it's absolutely necessary 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 Murrysville, Pennsylvania Lawyer Help?

If you are the plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit, you almost definitely already have a Murrysville, Pennsylvania lawyer. If either party to the lawsuit calls you for a deposition, your lawyer will have plenty of advice for you. You should, of course, follow that advice to the letter.

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 Murrysville, Pennsylvania 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.