Litigation Lawyers in Broussard

A civil deposition in Broussard, Louisiana occurs in many civil litigation cases, as part of the discovery process.

In Broussard, Louisiana, "discovery" is a time-consuming procedure that occurs before a case goes to trial. In the process, each side of the lawsuit is legally required to disclose all of the relevant information they have in their possession to the other side.

One of the most effective ways to acquire information relevant to a lawsuit in Broussard, Louisiana 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 Broussard, Louisiana

Depositions in Broussard, Louisiana are meant to get verbal testimony on the record and into evidence, when there is concern that the person being deposed might be unable to show up and testify at trial, or their testimony will take far too long for them to testify at trial.

Civil Depositions in Broussard, Louisiana, can take a very long time to be completed, normally lasting several days, and sometimes going on for weeks. So, people who are called to give depositions in Broussard, Louisiana should be prepared for some considerable inconvenience.

Because of this fact, the law in Broussard, Louisiana allows witnesses who are appearing for depositions to be compensated for the expense associated with it. This includes reimbursement for gas, lodging, and food. They can also be paid a certain amount of money for every hour they testify, to compensate them for their time. However, this money can only be conditioned on the witness showing up and giving truthful testimony. Trying to condition it on the witness testifying in a particular way ceases to be compensation, and becomes bribery, which is a crime.

If you are being deposed in Broussard, Louisiana 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 charged with perjury, which can carry jail time.

How Can A Broussard, Louisiana Lawyer Help?

If you are the defendant or plaintiff in a lawsuit, chances are good that you'll have to appear in a deposition. You should, by this point, already be represented by a Broussard, Louisiana civil litigation attorney. You should do whatever they tell you to do (unless, of course, they tell you to lie, in which case you should find a new lawyer).

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 Broussard, Louisiana. You probably 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.