Litigation Lawyers in Harrisburg

Civil depositions occur during civil litigation in Harrisburg, North Carolina. They are part of the discovery process.

"Discovery" is a process that occurs before a trial in Harrisburg, North Carolina. During the discovery process, both sides are required to make relevant information available to each other.

In Harrisburg, North Carolina, one way to acquire relevant evidence is to ask persons 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 Harrisburg, North Carolina

Depositions in Harrisburg, North Carolina serve a very important purpose: getting 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.

It should not be any surprise, then, that civil depositions in Harrisburg, North Carolina can go on for a very long time. If you are called to appear in a deposition in Harrisburg, North Carolina, this can be a huge headache.

To help mitigate this inconvenience, Harrisburg, North Carolina permits 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 Harrisburg, North Carolina, it's absolutely imperative 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 Harrisburg, North Carolina Lawyer Help?

If you're a party to a Harrisburg, North Carolina 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 you're not a party to the case, but have relevant information, you might be subpoenaed to appear in a deposition. In this case, you probably don't need to hire a Harrisburg, North Carolina litigation attorney, but it would not be a bad idea to seek out a brief consultation with one, to get an idea of what to expect.