Litigation Lawyers in Archdale

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

In Archdale, 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 receive information relevant to a lawsuit in Archdale, 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 Archdale, North Carolina

Depositions in Archdale, North Carolina serve a very significant purpose: receiving 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 Archdale, North Carolina, can take a very long time to be completed, normally lasting several days, and occasionally going on for weeks. So, people who are called to give depositions in Archdale, North Carolina should be ready for some considerable inconvenience.

To mitigate this, the law of Archdale, North Carolina normally 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 beneficial to one side or the other.

If you are being deposed in Archdale, 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 Archdale, North Carolina 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 time, already be represented by an Archdale, North Carolina civil litigation attorney. You should do whatever they tell you to do (unless, of course, they tell you to lie, in that case you should find a new lawyer).

If you are not a party to the lawsuit, but are subpoenaed to testify in a deposition, you should at least contact with an Archdale, North Carolina attorney, who can advise you on how to proceed.