Litigation Lawyers in San Luis

In San Luis, Arizona, a civil deposition is a part of the discovery process in civil litigation.

"Discovery" is a process that occurs before a trial in San Luis, Arizona. 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 San Luis, Arizona 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 San Luis, Arizona

If the parties believe that a witness in San Luis, Arizona won't be able to show up in court to testify during trial, because of age, poor health, upcoming military deployment, potential incarceration, or any other reason, a deposition is a very good way to get their testimony on the record before the trial. Also, if they have to be questioned for several days, it is a good way to save the court's time.

So, it shouldn't be surprising that civil depositions in San Luis, Arizona can often go on for several days. If you are subpoenaed for a deposition in , Arizona, you are usually obligated to appear. This can be a source of some inconvenience.

To help mitigate this inconvenience, San Luis, Arizona allows 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 serious problem: this would amount bribery, and it is a serious offense.

When giving a deposition in San Luis, Arizona, be sure to answer all of the questions honestly, and to the absolute best of your knowledge. You will be sworn in before the deposition begins, and you will be under oath, just as if you were in open court. So, if you lie, you are committing perjury, which can land you in jail.

How Can A San Luis, Arizona Lawyer Help?

If you are a party to a lawsuit, and are called to a deposition, chances are you're already represented by a , Arizona attorney. Obviously, you should follow their advice with respect to the deposition.

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 probably don't need to hire a San Luis, Arizona 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.