Litigation Lawyers in Paragould

In Paragould, Arkansas, a civil deposition is a part of the discovery process in civil litigation.

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

One of the most effective ways to acquire information relevant to a lawsuit in Paragould, Arkansas is to conduct a deposition of a party who you believe to be privy to that information. A deposition is a Q&A session between an attorney representing one of the parties to a lawsuit, and someone who has knowledge relevant to the lawsuit. This can be one of the parties, or a witness. The person being deposed is sworn in, and must answer all of the questions presented to them under oath. An attorney representing the other side can object to lines of questioning, on every grounds that would be valid during in-court testimony. The purpose of this is primarily to get the objection on the record, but if it proves to be a major sticking point, a judge can rule on the objections later. If any questions are found to be invalid, the questions, and their answers, will not be shown to the jury during trial. This is much more effective than simply instructing the jury to disregard a question and answer they've already heard.

Conducting A Civil Deposition in Paragould, Arkansas

Depositions in Paragould, Arkansas 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.

Paragould, Arkansas 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 Paragould, Arkansas civil deposition, this could prove to be incredibly inconvenient.

To help deal with this fact, Paragould, Arkansas allows witnesses who are being deposed to be compensated for their time. They can be reimbursed for lodging, travel expenses, and given a small amount of money for their time. Remember, however, that this money is most definitely NOT conditioned on the witness giving testimony that's beneficial to one side, and omitting information that's unfavorable. This would be bribery, and it is highly illegal.

If you are called to a deposition in Paragould, Arkansas, 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 Paragould, Arkansas Lawyer Help?

If you're a party to a Paragould, Arkansas 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, on the other hand, you're not directly immersed in the case, but have been subpoenaed to appear in a deposition as a witness in Paragould, Arkansas, you may not need to hire a lawyer. The lawyers for both sides will probably prep you for the deposition, giving you an idea of what to expect.