Litigation Lawyers in Grand Haven

A civil deposition in Grand Haven, Michigan occurs in many civil litigation cases, as part of the discovery process.

The discovery process in Grand Haven, Michigan is one of the most important parts of the civil litigation process. During the discovery phase, each side of the lawsuit is required to make all of the relevant information it has in its possession available to the other side.

In Grand Haven, Michigan, one way to acquire relevant evidence is to ask persons involved in the dispute (both parties and witnesses) about their knowledge of the matter. This is done through a civil deposition. It is essentially a question and answer session between a lawyer, and a witness or party to the action. A lawyer for the other side is present, as well as a court reporter or videographer. The lawyer asks questions of the person being deposed, who must answer them under oath.

Conducting A Civil Deposition in Grand Haven, Michigan

In Grand Haven, Michigan, 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 poor health, or any other reason.

Grand Haven, Michigan 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 Grand Haven, Michigan civil deposition, this could prove to be incredibly inconvenient.

Therefore, Grand Haven, Michigan's civil procedure rules permit 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 sometimes 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 associated with testifying.

If you are called to a deposition in Grand Haven, Michigan, 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 Grand Haven, Michigan Lawyer Help?

If you are the plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit, you almost certainly already have a Grand Haven, Michigan 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 Grand Haven, Michigan 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.