Litigation Lawyers in Bartlesville

Depositions are part of the discovery procedure in Bartlesville, Oklahoma civil litigation.

In Bartlesville, Oklahoma, "discovery" is a procedure that happens before a civil trial, during which both sides are obligated to disclose relevant evidence to the other.

One way to get this information in Bartlesville, Oklahoma is to simply sit down with someone involved in the dispute, or with knowledge of some of the issues, and ask them questions. This can be done through a civil deposition, which is basically a Q&A session between a lawyer, and the person being deposed. A lawyer for the other side will also be present. The person being deposed is answering their questions under oath, just as if they were testifying in court. Because of this, it's important to get their statements on the record. For that purpose, a court reporter or videographer will be present.

Conducting A Civil Deposition in Bartlesville, Oklahoma

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

Bartlesville, Oklahoma civil depositions can go on for a long time - sometimes going for a week or more. If you get subpoenaed to provide your testimony in a Bartlesville, Oklahoma civil deposition, this could prove to be incredibly inconvenient.

To help mitigate this inconvenience, Bartlesville, Oklahoma authorizes 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 significant problem: this would amount bribery, and it is a serious offense.

If you are called to a deposition in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, it's absolutely necessary 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 Bartlesville, Oklahoma Lawyer Help?

If you're a party to a Bartlesville, Oklahoma lawsuit and are obligated to appear at a deposition, one would hope that you've already retained a lawyer by this stage in the proceedings. Your attorney will have a lot of advice for you, which you should of course follow.

If you're not a party to the case, but have relevant information, you might be subpoenaed to appear in a deposition. In this case, you likely don't need to hire a Bartlesville, Oklahoma litigation attorney, but it would not be a bad idea to seek out a brief consultation with one, to get an idea of what to expect.