Litigation Lawyers in Exeter

Civil depositions happen during civil litigation in Exeter, New Hampshire. They are part of the discovery procedure.

"Discovery" is a procedure that happens before a trial in Exeter, New Hampshire. During the discovery process, both sides are obligated to make relevant information available to each other.

One of the most effective ways to obtain information relevant to a lawsuit in Exeter, 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 individual 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 mainly 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 Exeter, New Hampshire

Depositions in Exeter, New Hampshire serve a very significant purpose: obtaining 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, possible incarceration, or any other reason.

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

To help mitigate this inconvenience, Exeter, New Hampshire allows witnesses who are appearing in depositions to be paid a set amount of money for their time, and reimbursed for travel expenses. However, if there is any evidence that this money is being used to influence a witness' testimony, there is going to be a significant problem: this would amount bribery, and it is a serious offense.

In Exeter, 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 extremely steep fines.

How Can A Exeter, New Hampshire Lawyer Help?

If you are a party to a lawsuit, and are subpoenaed to a deposition, chances are you're already represented by a , New Hampshire attorney. Obviously, you should follow their advice with respect to the deposition.

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 likely don't need to hire an Exeter, 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.