Litigation Lawyers in Washington

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

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

In Washington, 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 Washington, North Carolina

Depositions are typically conducted in Washington, North Carolina if a person's testimony will take several days, or more, to deliver. By doing this before a trial, the jury can be presented just with the testimony that turns out to be relevant, saving everyone a good deal of time. It is also useful if there is any reason to suspect that the witness will be unable to show up in court.

Washington, North Carolina civil depositions can go on for a long time - sometimes going for a week or more. If you get subpoenaed to provide your testimony in a Washington, North Carolina civil deposition, this could prove to be incredibly inconvenient.

Thus, Washington, North Carolina's civil procedure rules permit a person to be compensated for the time and money they spend in appearing at a deposition. If the witness lives far away from the location of the deposition, as is occasionally the case in large trials, they can be reimbursed for travel and lodging expenses, and compensated for their time. However, this money cannot be used to influence HOW they testify, just to mitigate the inconvenience linked with testifying.

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

If you are the plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit, you almost definitely already have a Washington, 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 Washington, North Carolina, but have knowledge about some of the facts that are at issue in a pending case, you might still be contacted to appear in a deposition. In that case, you likely don't need to hire a lawyer.