Litigation Lawyers in Phenix City

In Phenix City, Alabama, a civil deposition is a part of the discovery process in civil litigation.

"Discovery" is a process that occurs before a trial in Phenix City, Alabama. During the discovery process, both sides are required to make relevant information available to each other.

One way to acquire this information in Phenix City, Alabama 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. Typically, 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 Phenix City, Alabama

Depositions in Phenix City, Alabama are meant to get verbal testimony on the record and into evidence, when there is concern that the person 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.

Phenix City, Alabama civil depositions can go on for a long time - occasionally going for a week or more. If you get subpoenaed to give your testimony in a Phenix City, Alabama civil deposition, this could prove to be incredibly inconvenient.

Therefore, Phenix City, Alabama's civil procedure rules permit 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 sometimes 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 associated with testifying.

If you are called to a deposition in Phenix City, Alabama, 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 Phenix City, Alabama Lawyer Help?

If you are the plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit, you almost certainly already have a Phenix City, Alabama 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 a lawsuit in Phenix City, Alabama, but have knowledge about some of the facts that are at issue in a pending case, you might still be called to appear in a deposition. In that case, you probably don't need to hire a lawyer.