Litigation Lawyers in South Tucson

In South Tucson, Arizona, a civil deposition is a part of the discovery process in civil litigation.

"Discovery" is a process that occurs before a trial in South Tucson, 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 South Tucson, 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 South Tucson, Arizona

If the parties believe that a witness in South Tucson, 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. Additionally, if they have to be questioned for several days, it is a good way to save the court's time.

It should not be any surprise, then, that civil depositions in South Tucson, Arizona can go on for a very long time. If you are called to appear in a deposition in South Tucson, Arizona, this can be a huge headache.

To mitigate this, the law of South Tucson, Arizona typically entitles people being deposed to reimbursement. They can be compensated for travel expenses, lodging, and a can be given a small amount of money simply for their time. However, this is meant to be reimbursement for the time and expense incurred in attending a deposition, and it is most definitely not payment for the witness to give testimony that's advantageous to one side or the other.

When giving a deposition in South Tucson, 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. Thus, if you lie, you are committing perjury, which can land you in jail.

How Can A South Tucson, Arizona Lawyer Help?

If you're a party to a South Tucson, Arizona 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 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 South Tucson, 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.