Litigation Lawyers in Chesterbrook

Depositions are part of the discovery process in Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania civil litigation.

In Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania, "discovery" is a process that occurs before a civil trial, during which both sides are required to disclose relevant evidence to the other.

One of the most effective ways to acquire information relevant to a lawsuit in Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania 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 Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania

Depositions in Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania 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 Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania can go on for a very long time. If you are called to appear in a deposition in Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania, this can be a massive headache.

To help mitigate this inconvenience, Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania 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 serious problem: this would amount bribery, and it is a serious offense.

If you are called to a deposition in Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania, 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 Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania Lawyer Help?

If you are directly immersed in a lawsuit in Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania, 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 are not directly immersed in the lawsuit, you might still have to appear at a deposition, if you have information that's relevant to the case in Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania. You probably don't need to hire a lawyer in that case, but it might be a good idea to at least get a consultation from one.