Litigation Lawyers in Fort Meade

In Fort Meade, Florida, a civil deposition is a part of the discovery procedure in civil litigation.

Discovery, in Fort Meade, Florida is a very critical step in the civil litigation process. It is when all of the relevant evidence is gathered by both sides, and, generally, each side must disclose that evidence to the other.

One way to obtain this information in Fort Meade, Florida is to simply sit down with someone involved in the dispute, or with knowledge of some of the issues, and ask them questions. This can be done through a civil deposition, which is basically a Q&A session between a lawyer, and the person being deposed. A lawyer for the other side will also be present. The person being deposed is answering their questions under oath, just as if they were testifying in court. Because of this, it's important to get their statements on the record. For that purpose, a court reporter or videographer will be present.

Conducting A Civil Deposition in Fort Meade, Florida

Depositions are usually conducted in Fort Meade, Florida if a person's testimony will take several days, or more, to deliver. By doing this before a trial, the jury can be presented just with the testimony that turns out to be relevant, saving everyone a good deal of time. It is also useful if there is any reason to suspect that the witness will be unable to show up in court.

Fort Meade, Florida 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 Fort Meade, Florida civil deposition, this could prove to be incredibly inconvenient.

To mitigate this, the law of Fort Meade, Florida 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 Fort Meade, Florida 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 Fort Meade, Florida Lawyer Help?

If you are the plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit, you almost definitely already have a Fort Meade, Florida lawyer. If either party to the lawsuit calls you for a deposition, your lawyer will have plenty of advice for you. You should, of course, follow that advice to the letter.

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 likely don't need to hire a Fort Meade, Florida 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.