Litigation Lawyers in Rensselaer

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

In Rensselaer, 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 Rensselaer, 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 Rensselaer, Indiana

Depositions in Rensselaer, Indiana serve a very significant purpose: obtaining testimony on the record, and admitted as evidence, when there is some reason to suspect that the witness won't be able to appear in court during trial, because of health, possible incarceration, or any other reason.

It should not be any shock, then, that civil depositions in Rensselaer, Indiana can go on for a very long time. If you are contacted to appear in a deposition in Rensselaer, Indiana, this can be a massive headache.

Thus, Rensselaer, Indiana'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 occasionally 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 linked with testifying.

If you are called to a deposition in Rensselaer, Indiana, 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 Rensselaer, Indiana Lawyer Help?

If you are the plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit, you almost definitely already have a Rensselaer, 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 are not directly immersed in the lawsuit, you might still have to appear at a deposition, if you have information that's relevant to the case in Rensselaer, Indiana. 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.