Litigation Lawyers in Munster

A civil deposition in Munster, Indiana happens in many civil litigation cases, as part of the discovery procedure.

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

One of the most effective ways to obtain information relevant to a lawsuit in Munster, Indiana 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 Munster, Indiana

In Munster, Indiana, 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 Munster, Indiana, 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 Munster, Indiana should be ready for some substantial inconvenience.

To help mitigate this inconvenience, Munster, Indiana 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 Munster, Indiana, 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 Munster, Indiana Lawyer Help?

If you are the plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit, you almost definitely already have a Munster, Indiana 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 a lawsuit in Munster, Indiana, 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.