Litigation Lawyers in New Kensington

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

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

In New Kensington, Pennsylvania, one way to obtain this information is to find the people involved in the dispute (whether they're witnesses or parties), and ask them questions about the issues you believe them to have knowledge of. A civil deposition is normally a pretty simple process: the person being deposed is sworn in (they are under oath, just as if they were in a courtroom). Because the whole point of a deposition is to get testimony on the record, a stenographer or video technician will also be present, recording the whole deposition. The lawyer then asks questions of the witness, and the lawyers for the other side are able to object to particular lines of questioning, if they wish.

Conducting A Civil Deposition in New Kensington, Pennsylvania

Depositions in New Kensington, Pennsylvania are meant to get verbal testimony on the record and into evidence, when there is concern that the individual being deposed might be unable to show up and testify at trial, or their testimony will take far too long for them to testify at trial.

Civil Depositions in New Kensington, 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 New Kensington, Pennsylvania should be ready for some considerable inconvenience.

To help deal with this fact, New Kensington, Pennsylvania permits witnesses who are being deposed to be compensated for their time. They can be reimbursed for lodging, travel expenses, and given a small amount of money for their time. Remember, however, that this money is most definitely NOT conditioned on the witness giving testimony that's beneficial to one side, and omitting information that's unfavorable. This would be bribery, and it is highly illegal.

Remember, when you give a deposition in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, you're under oath. This means that you are under an absolute requirement to tell the truth. If you deliberately lie while under oath, you are committing perjury. Perjury is a serious crime, and can be punished by fines and imprisonment.

How Can A New Kensington, Pennsylvania Lawyer Help?

If you're a party to a New Kensington, Pennsylvania 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 New Kensington, 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.