Litigation Lawyers in Prattville

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

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

One way to acquire this information in Prattville, 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. 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 Prattville, Alabama

Depositions in Prattville, 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.

Prattville, 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 Prattville, Alabama civil deposition, this could prove to be incredibly inconvenient.

Therefore, Prattville, Alabama'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 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.

Remember, when you give a deposition in Prattville, Alabama, you're under oath. This means that you are under an absolute obligation to tell the truth. If you deliberately lie while under oath, you are committing perjury. Perjury is a serious crime, and can be punished by fines and imprisonment.

How Can A Prattville, Alabama Lawyer Help?

If you are directly involved in a lawsuit in Prattville, Alabama, and have to appear at a deposition, you should already be represented by a lawyer. It goes without saying that you should do whatever they advise you to do during the deposition.

If you are not directly involved in the lawsuit, you might still have to appear at a deposition, if you have information that's relevant to the case in Prattville, Alabama. You probably don't need to hire a lawyer in that case, but it might be a good idea to at least get a consultation from one.