Litigation Lawyers in Hawkinsville

In Hawkinsville, Georgia, a civil deposition is a part of the discovery procedure in civil litigation.

Discovery, in Hawkinsville, Georgia 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 of the most effective ways to obtain information relevant to a lawsuit in Hawkinsville, 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 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 Hawkinsville, Georgia

In Hawkinsville, Georgia, 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.

Hawkinsville, Georgia 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 Hawkinsville, Georgia civil deposition, this could prove to be incredibly inconvenient.

To mitigate this, the law of Hawkinsville, Georgia typically 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 advantageous to one side or the other.

Remember, when you give a deposition in Hawkinsville, Georgia, you're under oath. This means that you are under an absolute requirement 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 Hawkinsville, Georgia Lawyer Help?

If you are directly engaged in a lawsuit in Hawkinsville, Georgia, 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 are not directly engaged in the lawsuit, you might still have to appear at a deposition, if you have information that's relevant to the case in Hawkinsville, Georgia. You likely don't need to hire a lawyer in that case, but it might be a good idea to at least get a consultation from one.