Litigation Lawyers in Clemmons

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

In Clemmons, 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 Clemmons, 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 Clemmons, North Carolina

If the parties believe that a witness in Clemmons, North Carolina won't be able to show up in court to testify during trial, because of age, bad health, upcoming military deployment, possible incarceration, or any other reason, a deposition is a very good way to get their testimony on the record before the trial. Furthermore, if they have to be questioned for several days, it is a good way to save the court's time.

It should not be any shock, then, that civil depositions in Clemmons, North Carolina can go on for a very long time. If you are contacted to appear in a deposition in Clemmons, North Carolina, this can be a massive headache.

To mitigate this, the law of Clemmons, 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.

When giving a deposition in Clemmons, North Carolina, be sure to answer all of the questions honestly, and to the absolute best of your knowledge. You will be sworn in before the deposition starts, and you will be under oath, just as if you were in open court. Therefore, if you lie, you are committing perjury, which can land you in jail.

How Can A Clemmons, North Carolina Lawyer Help?

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