Litigation Lawyers in De Soto

A civil deposition in De Soto, Kansas occurs in many civil litigation cases, as part of the discovery process.

In De Soto, Kansas, "discovery" is a process that occurs before a civil trial, during which both sides are required to disclose relevant evidence to the other.

One of the most effective ways to acquire information relevant to a lawsuit in De Soto, Kansas 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 person 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 primarily 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 De Soto, Kansas

If the parties believe that a witness in De Soto, Kansas won't be able to show up in court to testify during trial, because of age, poor health, upcoming military deployment, potential incarceration, or any other reason, a deposition is a very good way to get their testimony on the record before the trial. Additionally, if they have to be questioned for several days, it is a good way to save the court's time.

De Soto, Kansas civil depositions can go on for a long time - occasionally going for a week or more. If you get subpoenaed to give your testimony in a De Soto, Kansas civil deposition, this could prove to be incredibly inconvenient.

To help mitigate this inconvenience, De Soto, Kansas 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 serious problem: this would amount bribery, and it is a serious offense.

In De Soto, Kansas depositions, everyone being deposed is under oath. This means that you are legally and morally obligated to answer every question truthfully. If you deliberately misrepresent your knowledge (lie), you are guilty of perjury. And if you're caught, you could end up facing jail time and/or some very steep fines.

How Can A De Soto, Kansas Lawyer Help?

If you are the plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit, you almost certainly already have a De Soto, Kansas 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 the case, but have relevant information, you might be subpoenaed to appear in a deposition. In this case, you probably don't need to hire a De Soto, Kansas litigation attorney, but it would not be a bad idea to seek out a brief consultation with one, to get an idea of what to expect.