Litigation Lawyers in Swissvale

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

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

In Swissvale, Pennsylvania, one way to acquire 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 Swissvale, Pennsylvania

Depositions are normally conducted in Swissvale, 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 everybody 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 Swissvale, 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 Swissvale, Pennsylvania should be prepared for some considerable inconvenience.

To mitigate this, the law of Swissvale, 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 give testimony that's beneficial to one side or the other.

Remember, when you give a deposition in Swissvale, Pennsylvania, you're under oath. This means that you are under an absolute obligation 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 Swissvale, Pennsylvania Lawyer Help?

If you're a party to a Swissvale, 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 are not a party to the case, but are subpoenaed to testify in a deposition, you should at least consult with a Swissvale, Pennsylvania attorney, who can advise you on how to proceed.