Litigation Lawyers in Hudson Falls

Civil depositions occur during civil litigation in Hudson Falls, New York. They are part of the discovery process.

Discovery, in Hudson Falls, 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 Hudson Falls, 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 Hudson Falls, New York

Depositions in Hudson Falls, New York serve a very important purpose: acquiring 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, potential incarceration, or any other reason.

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

Therefore, Hudson Falls, New York's civil procedure rules permit 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 called to a deposition in Hudson Falls, New York, 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 Hudson Falls, New York Lawyer Help?

If you are directly engaged in a lawsuit in Hudson Falls, New York, 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 during the deposition.

If you're not a party to a lawsuit in Hudson Falls, 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.