Litigation Lawyers in Angier

Civil depositions happen during civil litigation in Angier, North Carolina. They are part of the discovery procedure.

In Angier, North Carolina, "discovery" is a procedure that happens before a civil trial, during which both sides are obligated to disclose relevant evidence to the other.

One of the most effective ways to obtain information relevant to a lawsuit in Angier, North Carolina 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 individual 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 mainly 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 Angier, North Carolina

Depositions in Angier, North Carolina serve a very significant purpose: obtaining 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, possible incarceration, or any other reason.

Civil Depositions in Angier, North Carolina, can take a very long time to be completed, usually lasting several days, and occasionally going on for weeks. So, people who are called to give depositions in Angier, North Carolina should be ready for some significant inconvenience.

To mitigate this, the law of Angier, North Carolina usually entitles people being deposed to reimbursement. They can be compensated for travel expenses, lodging, and a can be given a small amount of money simply for their time. However, this is meant to be reimbursement for the time and expense incurred in attending a deposition, and it is most definitely not payment for the witness to provide testimony that's favorable to one side or the other.

If you are being deposed in Angier, North Carolina 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 prosecuted with perjury, which can carry jail time.

How Can A Angier, North Carolina Lawyer Help?

If you are the plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit, you almost definitely already have an Angier, North Carolina 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 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 Angier, North Carolina. You likely 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.