Litigation Lawyers in Wesley Chapel

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

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

In Wesley Chapel, 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 Wesley Chapel, North Carolina

Depositions are usually conducted in Wesley Chapel, 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.

Wesley Chapel, 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 Wesley Chapel, North Carolina civil deposition, this could prove to be incredibly inconvenient.

Thus, Wesley Chapel, North Carolina's civil procedure rules allow 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 being deposed in Wesley Chapel, North Carolina you absolutely must answer all the questions truthfully and completely, to the best of your knowledge. You are under oath, and if you lie, and are caught, you could be prosecuted with perjury, which can carry jail time.

How Can A Wesley Chapel, North Carolina Lawyer Help?

If you are the defendant or plaintiff in a lawsuit, chances are good that you'll have to appear in a deposition. You should, by this time, already be represented by a Wesley Chapel, North Carolina civil litigation attorney. You should do whatever they tell you to do (unless, of course, they tell you to lie, in that case you should find a new lawyer).

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 Wesley Chapel, 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.