Litigation Lawyers in New Hanover County

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

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

In New Hanover County, North Carolina, one way to get relevant evidence is to ask individuals 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 New Hanover County, North Carolina

If the parties believe that a witness in New Hanover County, North Carolina won't be able to show up in court to testify during trial, because of age, poor health, upcoming military deployment, potential 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 surprise, then, that civil depositions in New Hanover County, North Carolina can go on for a very long time. If you are called to appear in a deposition in New Hanover County, North Carolina, this can be a massive headache.

To help mitigate this inconvenience, New Hanover County, North Carolina authorizes 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.

When giving a deposition in New Hanover County, 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 begins, 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 New Hanover County, North Carolina Lawyer Help?

If you're a party to a New Hanover County, 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 New Hanover County, 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.