Litigation Lawyers in Central Falls

Depositions are part of the discovery process in Central Falls, Rhode Island civil litigation.

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

One of the most effective ways to get information relevant to a lawsuit in Central Falls, Rhode Island is to conduct a deposition of a party who you believe to be privy to that information. A deposition is a Q&A session between an attorney representing one of the parties to a lawsuit, and someone who has knowledge relevant to the lawsuit. This can be one of the parties, or a witness. The person being deposed is sworn in, and must answer all of the questions presented to them under oath. An attorney representing the other side can object to lines of questioning, on every grounds that would be valid during in-court testimony. The purpose of this is primarily to get the objection on the record, but if it proves to be a major sticking point, a judge can rule on the objections later. If any questions are found to be invalid, the questions, and their answers, will not be shown to the jury during trial. This is much more effective than simply instructing the jury to disregard a question and answer they've already heard.

Conducting A Civil Deposition in Central Falls, Rhode Island

Depositions in Central Falls, Rhode Island serve a very important purpose: getting 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.

It should not be any surprise, then, that civil depositions in Central Falls, Rhode Island can go on for a very long time. If you are called to appear in a deposition in Central Falls, Rhode Island, this can be a massive headache.

To help mitigate this inconvenience, Central Falls, Rhode Island 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 Central Falls, Rhode Island, 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 Central Falls, Rhode Island Lawyer Help?

If you are directly immersed in a lawsuit in Central Falls, Rhode Island, and have to appear at a deposition, you should already be represented by a lawyer. It goes without saying that you should do whatever they advise you to do during the deposition.

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 Central Falls, Rhode Island, 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.