Litigation Lawyers in Federal Heights

In Federal Heights, Colorado, a civil deposition is a part of the discovery procedure in civil litigation.

In Federal Heights, Colorado, "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 of the most effective ways to obtain information relevant to a lawsuit in Federal Heights, Colorado 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 individual 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 mainly 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 Federal Heights, Colorado

Depositions in Federal Heights, Colorado are meant to get verbal testimony on the record and into evidence, when there is concern that the individual 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 Federal Heights, Colorado, can take a very long time to be completed, normally lasting several days, and occasionally going on for weeks. So, people who are called to give depositions in Federal Heights, Colorado should be ready for some considerable inconvenience.

To help mitigate this inconvenience, Federal Heights, Colorado authorizes 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 significant problem: this would amount bribery, and it is a serious offense.

If you are being deposed in Federal Heights, Colorado you absolutely must answer all the questions truthfully and completely, to the best of your knowledge. You are under oath, and if you lie, and are caught, you could be prosecuted with perjury, which can carry jail time.

How Can A Federal Heights, Colorado Lawyer Help?

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

If you're not a party to a lawsuit in Federal Heights, Colorado, 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.