Litigation Lawyers in Atlantic Highlands

Civil depositions occur during civil litigation in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey. They are part of the discovery process.

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

One of the most effective ways to acquire information relevant to a lawsuit in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey 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 Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey

If the parties believe that a witness in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey won't be able to show up in court to testify during trial, because of age, poor health, upcoming military deployment, potential incarceration, or any other reason, a deposition is a very good way to get their testimony on the record before the trial. Additionally, if they have to be questioned for several days, it is a good way to save the court's time.

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

To help mitigate this inconvenience, Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey 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 serious problem: this would amount bribery, and it is a serious offense.

If you are called to a deposition in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, 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 Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey Lawyer Help?

If you are the plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit, you almost certainly already have an Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey 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 a lawsuit in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, but have knowledge about some of the facts that are at issue in a pending case, you might still be called to appear in a deposition. In that case, you probably don't need to hire a lawyer.