Litigation Lawyers in Glassport

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

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

In Glassport, Pennsylvania, one way to get relevant evidence is to ask individuals 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 Glassport, Pennsylvania

Depositions in Glassport, 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.

Civil Depositions in Glassport, Pennsylvania, can take a very long time to be completed, normally lasting several days, and sometimes going on for weeks. So, people who are called to give depositions in Glassport, Pennsylvania should be prepared for some considerable inconvenience.

To help mitigate this inconvenience, Glassport, 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 Glassport, 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 Glassport, Pennsylvania Lawyer Help?

If you're a party to a Glassport, 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, on the other hand, you're not directly immersed in the case, but have been subpoenaed to appear in a deposition as a witness in Glassport, Pennsylvania, you may not need to hire a lawyer. The lawyers for both sides will probably prep you for the deposition, giving you an idea of what to expect.