Litigation Lawyers in Cochran

In Cochran, Georgia, a civil deposition is a part of the discovery process in civil litigation.

Discovery, in Cochran, Georgia is a very important 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 of the most effective ways to get information relevant to a lawsuit in Cochran, Georgia 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 Cochran, Georgia

Depositions in Cochran, Georgia are meant to get verbal testimony on the record and into evidence, when there is concern that the person 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.

Cochran, Georgia civil depositions can go on for a long time - occasionally going for a week or more. If you get subpoenaed to give your testimony in a Cochran, Georgia civil deposition, this could prove to be incredibly inconvenient.

Therefore, Cochran, Georgia's civil procedure rules authorize a person to be compensated for the time and money they spend in appearing at a deposition. If the witness lives far away from the location of the deposition, as is sometimes the case in large trials, they can be reimbursed for travel and lodging expenses, and compensated for their time. However, this money cannot be used to influence HOW they testify, just to mitigate the inconvenience associated with testifying.

Remember, when you give a deposition in Cochran, Georgia, you're under oath. This means that you are under an absolute obligation to tell the truth. If you deliberately lie while under oath, you are committing perjury. Perjury is a serious crime, and can be punished by fines and imprisonment.

How Can A Cochran, Georgia Lawyer Help?

If you are the plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit, you almost certainly already have a Cochran, Georgia 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 probably don't need to hire a Cochran, Georgia 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.