Litigation Lawyers in New Haven

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

The discovery process in New 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 New Haven, 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 New Haven, Michigan

Depositions in New Haven, Michigan serve a very important purpose: acquiring 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, potential incarceration, or any other reason.

Civil Depositions in New Haven, Michigan, can take a very long time to be completed, usually lasting several days, and sometimes going on for weeks. So, people who are called to give depositions in New Haven, Michigan should be prepared for some significant inconvenience.

To help mitigate this inconvenience, New Haven, Michigan allows 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.

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

If you're a party to a New Haven, Michigan lawsuit and are required to appear at a deposition, one would hope that you've already retained a lawyer by this stage in the proceedings. Your attorney will have a lot of advice for you, which you should of course follow.

If, on the other hand, you're not directly involved in the case, but have been subpoenaed to appear in a deposition as a witness in New Haven, Michigan, you may not need to hire a lawyer. The lawyers for both sides will probably prep you for the deposition, giving you an idea of what to expect.