Litigation Lawyers in King

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

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

In King, 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 King, North Carolina

Depositions in King, 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.

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

To help mitigate this inconvenience, King, 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 serious problem: this would amount bribery, and it is a serious offense.

If you are called to a deposition in King, 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 King, North Carolina Lawyer Help?

If you are the plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit, you almost certainly already have a King, 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're not a party to a lawsuit in King, North Carolina, but have knowledge about some of the facts that are at issue in a pending case, you might still be called to appear in a deposition. In that case, you probably don't need to hire a lawyer.