Litigation Lawyers in Grandville

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

The discovery process in Grandville, 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 Grandville, Michigan, one way to obtain relevant evidence is to ask people 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 Grandville, Michigan

In Grandville, 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. Also, 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.

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

Therefore, Grandville, Michigan's civil procedure rules allow 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 Grandville, Michigan, it's absolutely essential 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 Grandville, Michigan 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 Grandville, Michigan 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 involved in the lawsuit, you might still have to appear at a deposition, if you have information that's relevant to the case in Grandville, Michigan. 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.