Litigation Lawyers in Grand Island

Civil depositions occur during civil litigation in Grand Island, Nebraska. They are part of the discovery process.

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

One way to get this information in Grand Island, Nebraska is to conduct a deposition. A deposition, at its core, is a fairly simple process. A deposition is a question and answer session conducted outside the courtroom. Normally, it takes place in the office space of an attorney representing one of the parties. There are a few people who are almost always present at the deposition: there's the person being deposed, the lawyer who is going to be asking the questions, a lawyer representing the other side of the lawsuit, who can object to any questions being asked (a judge can rule on the objections later), and a court reporter or video recorder, to ensure that the testimony ends up on the record.

Conducting A Civil Deposition in Grand Island, Nebraska

Depositions are normally conducted in Grand Island, Nebraska 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 everybody 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.

It should not be any surprise, then, that civil depositions in Grand Island, Nebraska can go on for a very long time. If you are called to appear in a deposition in Grand Island, Nebraska, this can be a massive headache.

Therefore, Grand Island, Nebraska's civil procedure rules authorize 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 sometimes 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 associated with testifying.

If you are called to a deposition in Grand Island, Nebraska, it's absolutely necessary 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 Grand Island, Nebraska 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 point, already be represented by a Grand Island, Nebraska civil litigation attorney. You should do whatever they tell you to do (unless, of course, they tell you to lie, in which case you should find a new lawyer).

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 Grand Island, Nebraska 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.