Litigation Lawyers in Ogallala

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

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

One of the most effective ways to get information relevant to a lawsuit in Ogallala, Nebraska is to conduct a deposition of a party who you believe to be privy to that information. A deposition is a Q&A session between an attorney representing one of the parties to a lawsuit, and someone who has knowledge relevant to the lawsuit. This can be one of the parties, or a witness. The person being deposed is sworn in, and must answer all of the questions presented to them under oath. An attorney representing the other side can object to lines of questioning, on every grounds that would be valid during in-court testimony. The purpose of this is primarily to get the objection on the record, but if it proves to be a major sticking point, a judge can rule on the objections later. If any questions are found to be invalid, the questions, and their answers, will not be shown to the jury during trial. This is much more effective than simply instructing the jury to disregard a question and answer they've already heard.

Conducting A Civil Deposition in Ogallala, Nebraska

Depositions in Ogallala, Nebraska are meant to get verbal testimony on the record and into evidence, when there is concern that the person being deposed might be unable to show up and testify at trial, or their testimony will take far too long for them to testify at trial.

Ogallala, Nebraska civil depositions can go on for a long time - occasionally going for a week or more. If you get subpoenaed to give your testimony in an Ogallala, Nebraska civil deposition, this could prove to be incredibly inconvenient.

To help deal with this fact, Ogallala, Nebraska allows witnesses who are being deposed to be compensated for their time. They can be reimbursed for lodging, travel expenses, and given a small amount of money for their time. Remember, however, that this money is most definitely NOT conditioned on the witness giving testimony that's beneficial to one side, and omitting information that's unfavorable. This would be bribery, and it is highly illegal.

In Ogallala, Nebraska depositions, everyone being deposed is under oath. This means that you are legally and morally obligated to answer every question truthfully. If you deliberately misrepresent your knowledge (lie), you are guilty of perjury. And if you're caught, you could end up facing jail time and/or some very steep fines.

How Can A Ogallala, Nebraska Lawyer Help?

If you are the plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit, you almost certainly already have an Ogallala, Nebraska 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 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 an Ogallala, 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.