Litigation Lawyers in Pleasant Hill

In Pleasant Hill, Iowa, a civil deposition is a part of the discovery procedure in civil litigation.

The discovery procedure in Pleasant Hill, Iowa is one of the most significant parts of the civil litigation process. During the discovery phase, each side of the lawsuit is obligated to make all of the relevant information it has in its possession available to the other side.

In Pleasant Hill, Iowa, 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 usually 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 certain lines of questioning, if they wish.

Conducting A Civil Deposition in Pleasant Hill, Iowa

In Pleasant Hill, Iowa, 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. Also, 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.

So, it shouldn't be startling that civil depositions in Pleasant Hill, Iowa can typically go on for several days. If you are subpoenaed for a deposition in , Iowa, you are usually obligated to appear. This can be a source of some inconvenience.

To help mitigate this inconvenience, Pleasant Hill, Iowa allows 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 Pleasant Hill, Iowa 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 Pleasant Hill, Iowa Lawyer Help?

If you're a party to a Pleasant Hill, Iowa 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 a lawsuit in Pleasant Hill, Iowa, 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.