Litigation Lawyers in Kill Devil Hills

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

"Discovery" is a procedure that happens before a trial in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. During the discovery process, both sides are obligated to make relevant information available to each other.

In Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, 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 Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina

Depositions in Kill Devil Hills, 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 Kill Devil Hills, 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 Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina should be ready for some significant inconvenience.

To help mitigate this inconvenience, Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina 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 significant problem: this would amount bribery, and it is a serious offense.

If you are called to a deposition in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, 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 Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina Lawyer Help?

If you are the plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit, you almost definitely already have a Kill Devil Hills, 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 Kill Devil Hills, 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.