Litigation Lawyers in Charlestown

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

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

Depositions in Charlestown, 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.

It should not be any surprise, then, that civil depositions in Charlestown, New Hampshire can go on for a very long time. If you are called to appear in a deposition in Charlestown, New Hampshire, this can be a major headache.

To mitigate this, the law of Charlestown, New Hampshire usually entitles people being deposed to reimbursement. They can be compensated for travel expenses, lodging, and a can be given a small amount of money simply for their time. However, this is meant to be reimbursement for the time and expense incurred in attending a deposition, and it is most definitely not payment for the witness to give testimony that's favorable to one side or the other.

In Charlestown, New Hampshire 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 Charlestown, New Hampshire Lawyer Help?

If you are the plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit, you almost certainly already have a Charlestown, New Hampshire 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 a Charlestown, New Hampshire 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.