Litigation Lawyers in Rancho Cucamonga

In Rancho Cucamonga, California, a civil deposition is a part of the discovery procedure in civil litigation.

In Rancho Cucamonga, California, "discovery" is a time-consuming process that happens before a case goes to trial. In the process, each side of the lawsuit is legally obligated to disclose all of the relevant information they have in their possession to the other side.

One way to receive this information in Rancho Cucamonga, California 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 Rancho Cucamonga, California

In Rancho Cucamonga, California, the main reason to conduct a deposition, as opposed to having someone testify in court, is to save time. After days of depositions, the jury can be presented with just the relevant testimony, if the case goes to trial. Also, it's a good idea to conduct a deposition if there's any reason to believe that the witness will not be able to show up to court to testify, due to bad health, or any other reason.

Rancho Cucamonga, California civil depositions can go on for a long time - sometimes going for a week or more. If you get subpoenaed to provide your testimony in a Rancho Cucamonga, California civil deposition, this could prove to be incredibly inconvenient.

To mitigate this, the law of Rancho Cucamonga, California usually 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 provide testimony that's favorable to one side or the other.

In Rancho Cucamonga, California depositions, everyone being deposed is under oath. This means that you are legally and morally obligated to answer every question truthfully. If you deliberately misrepresent your knowledge (lie), you are guilty of perjury. And if you're caught, you could end up facing jail time and/or some extremely steep fines.

How Can A Rancho Cucamonga, California Lawyer Help?

If you are directly involved in a lawsuit in Rancho Cucamonga, California, 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 throughout the deposition.

If you're not a party to a lawsuit in Rancho Cucamonga, California, but have knowledge about some of the facts that are at issue in a pending case, you might still be contacted to appear in a deposition. In that case, you likely don't need to hire a lawyer.