Litigation Lawyers in Cedar Grove

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

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

If the parties believe that a witness in Cedar Grove, 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.

Cedar Grove, 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 Cedar Grove, New Jersey civil deposition, this could prove to be incredibly inconvenient.

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

If you are being deposed in Cedar Grove, 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 Cedar Grove, New Jersey Lawyer Help?

If you are the plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit, you almost certainly already have a Cedar Grove, 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 are not a party to the case, but are subpoenaed to testify in a deposition, you should at least consult with a Cedar Grove, New Jersey attorney, who can advise you on how to proceed.