Litigation Lawyers in North East

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

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

In North East, Pennsylvania, one way to receive 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 North East, Pennsylvania

Depositions in North East, 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 North East, 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 North East, Pennsylvania should be ready for some considerable inconvenience.

To help mitigate this inconvenience, North East, 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 significant problem: this would amount bribery, and it is a serious offense.

If you are being deposed in North East, 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 North East, Pennsylvania Lawyer Help?

If you are the plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit, you almost definitely already have a North East, 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're not a party to a lawsuit in North East, Pennsylvania, but have knowledge about some of the facts that are at issue in a pending case, you might still be contacted to appear in a deposition. In that case, you likely don't need to hire a lawyer.