Litigation Lawyers in Forty Fort

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

"Discovery" is a process that occurs before a trial in Forty Fort, Pennsylvania. During the discovery process, both sides are required to make relevant information available to each other.

In Forty Fort, Pennsylvania, one way to acquire relevant evidence is to ask persons involved in the dispute (both parties and witnesses) about their knowledge of the matter. This is done through a civil deposition. It is essentially a question and answer session between a lawyer, and a witness or party to the action. A lawyer for the other side is present, as well as a court reporter or videographer. The lawyer asks questions of the person being deposed, who must answer them under oath.

Conducting A Civil Deposition in Forty Fort, Pennsylvania

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

To help mitigate this inconvenience, Forty Fort, Pennsylvania permits 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.

When giving a deposition in Forty Fort, Pennsylvania, be sure to answer all of the questions honestly, and to the absolute best of your knowledge. You will be sworn in before the deposition begins, and you will be under oath, just as if you were in open court. Thus, if you lie, you are committing perjury, which can land you in jail.

How Can A Forty Fort, Pennsylvania Lawyer Help?

If you're a party to a Forty Fort, Pennsylvania lawsuit and are required 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 probably don't need to hire a Forty Fort, Pennsylvania 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.