Litigation Lawyers in Cold Spring Harbor

Civil depositions occur during civil litigation in Cold Spring Harbor, New York. They are part of the discovery process.

Discovery, in Cold Spring Harbor, New York is a very crucial step in the civil litigation process. It is when all of the relevant evidence is gathered by both sides, and, generally, each side must disclose that evidence to the other.

One of the most effective ways to acquire information relevant to a lawsuit in Cold Spring Harbor, New York 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 Cold Spring Harbor, New York

Depositions in Cold Spring Harbor, New York are meant to get verbal testimony on the record and into evidence, when there is concern that the person being deposed might be unable to show up and testify at trial, or their testimony will take far too long for them to testify at trial.

Cold Spring Harbor, New York 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 Cold Spring Harbor, New York civil deposition, this could prove to be incredibly inconvenient.

Therefore, Cold Spring Harbor, New York's civil procedure rules allow a person to be compensated for the time and money they spend in appearing at a deposition. If the witness lives far away from the location of the deposition, as is sometimes the case in large trials, they can be reimbursed for travel and lodging expenses, and compensated for their time. However, this money cannot be used to influence HOW they testify, just to mitigate the inconvenience associated with testifying.

If you are being deposed in Cold Spring Harbor, New York 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 Cold Spring Harbor, New York Lawyer Help?

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

If you're not a party to a lawsuit in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, 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.