Litigation Lawyers in Siloam Springs

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

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

One of the most effective ways to get information relevant to a lawsuit in Siloam Springs, 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 Siloam Springs, Arkansas

Depositions in Siloam Springs, 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.

Civil Depositions in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, can take a very long time to be completed, typically lasting several days, and sometimes going on for weeks. So, people who are called to give depositions in Siloam Springs, Arkansas should be prepared for some substantial inconvenience.

Because of this fact, the law in Siloam Springs, Arkansas allows witnesses who are appearing for depositions to be compensated for the expense associated with it. This includes reimbursement for gas, lodging, and food. They can also be paid a certain amount of money for every hour they testify, to compensate them for their time. However, this money can only be conditioned on the witness showing up and giving truthful testimony. Trying to condition it on the witness testifying in a specific way ceases to be compensation, and becomes bribery, which is a crime.

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

If you are directly engaged in a lawsuit in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, 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're not a party to a lawsuit in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, 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.