Litigation Lawyers in Panama City

In Panama City, Florida, a civil deposition is a part of the discovery procedure in civil litigation.

Discovery, in Panama City, 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.

In Panama City, Florida, one way to obtain this information is to find the people involved in the dispute (whether they're witnesses or parties), and ask them questions about the issues you believe them to have knowledge of. A civil deposition is typically a pretty simple process: the person being deposed is sworn in (they are under oath, just as if they were in a courtroom). Because the whole point of a deposition is to get testimony on the record, a stenographer or video technician will also be present, recording the whole deposition. The lawyer then asks questions of the witness, and the lawyers for the other side are able to object to specific lines of questioning, if they wish.

Conducting A Civil Deposition in Panama City, Florida

In Panama City, Florida, 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. Additionally, 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.

Civil Depositions in Panama City, Florida, can take a very long time to be completed, typically lasting several days, and occasionally going on for weeks. So, people who are called to give depositions in Panama City, Florida should be ready for some substantial inconvenience.

To help mitigate this inconvenience, Panama City, Florida permits 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 called to a deposition in Panama City, Florida, it's absolutely imperative that you answer all the questions truthfully, to the best of your knowledge. When testifying in a deposition, you are under oath, just as you would be in open court. Deliberately lying in a deposition is perjury, which is a serious crime.

How Can A Panama City, Florida Lawyer Help?

If you're a party to a Panama City, Florida lawsuit and are obligated 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 likely don't need to hire a Panama City, 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.