Litigation Lawyers in Lebanon

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

"Discovery" is a procedure that happens before a trial in Lebanon, 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 Lebanon, 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 Lebanon, New Hampshire

Depositions in Lebanon, 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.

Civil Depositions in Lebanon, New Hampshire, can take a very long time to be completed, typically lasting several days, and occasionally going on for weeks. So, people who are called to give depositions in Lebanon, New Hampshire should be ready for some substantial inconvenience.

To help mitigate this inconvenience, Lebanon, New Hampshire permits 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.

If you are called to a deposition in Lebanon, New Hampshire, it's absolutely imperative 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 Lebanon, New Hampshire Lawyer Help?

If you are directly engaged in a lawsuit in Lebanon, 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 throughout the deposition.

If, on the other hand, you're not directly engaged in the case, but have been subpoenaed to appear in a deposition as a witness in Lebanon, New Hampshire, you may not need to hire a lawyer. The lawyers for both sides will probably prep you for the deposition, giving you an idea of what to expect.