Litigation Lawyers in Media

Depositions are part of the discovery procedure in Media, Pennsylvania civil litigation.

"Discovery" is a procedure that happens before a trial in Media, Pennsylvania. During the discovery process, both sides are obligated to make relevant information available to each other.

In Media, 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 Media, Pennsylvania

Depositions are normally conducted in Media, Pennsylvania if a person's testimony will take several days, or more, to deliver. By doing this before a trial, the jury can be presented just with the testimony that turns out to be relevant, saving everyone a good deal of time. It is also useful if there is any reason to suspect that the witness will be unable to show up in court.

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

To mitigate this, the law of Media, Pennsylvania normally entitles people being deposed to reimbursement. They can be compensated for travel expenses, lodging, and a can be given a small amount of money simply for their time. However, this is meant to be reimbursement for the time and expense incurred in attending a deposition, and it is most definitely not payment for the witness to provide testimony that's beneficial to one side or the other.

If you are being deposed in Media, Pennsylvania you absolutely must answer all the questions truthfully and completely, to the best of your knowledge. You are under oath, and if you lie, and are caught, you could be prosecuted with perjury, which can carry jail time.

How Can A Media, Pennsylvania Lawyer Help?

If you are the plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit, you almost definitely already have a Media, Pennsylvania lawyer. If either party to the lawsuit calls you for a deposition, your lawyer will have plenty of advice for you. You should, of course, follow that advice to the letter.

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 Media, Pennsylvania. You likely 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.