Litigation Lawyers in South Elgin

A civil deposition in South Elgin, Illinois happens in many civil litigation cases, as part of the discovery procedure.

In South Elgin, Illinois, "discovery" is a procedure that happens before a civil trial, during which both sides are obligated to disclose relevant evidence to the other.

One way to obtain this information in South Elgin, Illinois is to conduct a deposition. A deposition, at its core, is a fairly simple process. A deposition is a question and answer session conducted outside the courtroom. Normally, it takes place in the office space of an attorney representing one of the parties. There are a few people who are almost always present at the deposition: there's the person being deposed, the lawyer who is going to be asking the questions, a lawyer representing the other side of the lawsuit, who can object to any questions being asked (a judge can rule on the objections later), and a court reporter or video recorder, to ensure that the testimony ends up on the record.

Conducting A Civil Deposition in South Elgin, Illinois

In South Elgin, Illinois, 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. Furthermore, 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.

South Elgin, Illinois 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 South Elgin, Illinois civil deposition, this could prove to be incredibly inconvenient.

To help mitigate this inconvenience, South Elgin, Illinois authorizes 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 South Elgin, Illinois, it's absolutely necessary 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 South Elgin, Illinois Lawyer Help?

If you're a party to a South Elgin, Illinois 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, on the other hand, you're not directly immersed in the case, but have been subpoenaed to appear in a deposition as a witness in South Elgin, Illinois, you may not need to hire a lawyer. The lawyers for both sides will probably prep you for the deposition, giving you an idea of what to expect.