Litigation Lawyers in Amherst

Civil depositions occur during civil litigation in Amherst, New Hampshire. They are part of the discovery process.

"Discovery" is a process that occurs before a trial in Amherst, New Hampshire. 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 Amherst, New Hampshire 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 Amherst, New Hampshire

Depositions in Amherst, New Hampshire serve a very important purpose: getting testimony on the record, and admitted as evidence, when there is some reason to suspect that the witness won't be able to appear in court during trial, because of health, potential incarceration, or any other reason.

So, it shouldn't be surprising that civil depositions in Amherst, New Hampshire can often go on for several days. If you are subpoenaed for a deposition in , New Hampshire, you are normally obligated to appear. This can be a source of some inconvenience.

Therefore, Amherst, New Hampshire'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.

Remember, when you give a deposition in Amherst, New Hampshire, you're under oath. This means that you are under an absolute obligation to tell the truth. If you deliberately lie while under oath, you are committing perjury. Perjury is a serious crime, and can be punished by fines and imprisonment.

How Can A Amherst, New Hampshire Lawyer Help?

If you are directly immersed in a lawsuit in Amherst, New Hampshire, and have to appear at a deposition, you should already be represented by a lawyer. It goes without saying that you should do whatever they advise you to do during the deposition.

If you are not directly immersed in the lawsuit, you might still have to appear at a deposition, if you have information that's relevant to the case in Amherst, New Hampshire. You probably 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.