Litigation Lawyers in Bellmawr

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

"Discovery" is a process that occurs before a trial in Bellmawr, 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 Bellmawr, 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 Bellmawr, New Jersey

If the parties believe that a witness in Bellmawr, 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. Also, if they have to be questioned for several days, it is a good way to save the court's time.

Bellmawr, New Jersey civil depositions can go on for a long time - occasionally going for a week or more. If you get subpoenaed to give your testimony in a Bellmawr, New Jersey civil deposition, this could prove to be incredibly inconvenient.

To mitigate this, the law of Bellmawr, New Jersey 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.

If you are being deposed in Bellmawr, New Jersey you absolutely must answer all the questions truthfully and completely, to the best of your knowledge. You are under oath, and if you lie, and are caught, you could be charged with perjury, which can carry jail time.

How Can A Bellmawr, New Jersey Lawyer Help?

If you are the defendant or plaintiff in a lawsuit, chances are good that you'll have to appear in a deposition. You should, by this point, already be represented by a Bellmawr, New Jersey civil litigation attorney. You should do whatever they tell you to do (unless, of course, they tell you to lie, in which case you should find a new lawyer).

If, on the other hand, you're not directly involved in the case, but have been subpoenaed to appear in a deposition as a witness in Bellmawr, New Jersey, 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.