Litigation Lawyers in Exeter

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

"Discovery" is a process that occurs before a trial in Exeter, 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 acquire information relevant to a lawsuit in Exeter, 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 Exeter, Rhode Island

Depositions in Exeter, Rhode Island serve a very important purpose: acquiring 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 Exeter, Rhode Island can go on for a very long time. If you are called to appear in a deposition in Exeter, Rhode Island, this can be a massive headache.

To help mitigate this inconvenience, Exeter, 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.

When giving a deposition in Exeter, Rhode Island, be sure to answer all of the questions honestly, and to the absolute best of your knowledge. You will be sworn in before the deposition begins, and you will be under oath, just as if you were in open court. Therefore, if you lie, you are committing perjury, which can land you in jail.

How Can A Exeter, Rhode Island Lawyer Help?

If you are a party to a lawsuit, and are called to a deposition, chances are you're already represented by a , Rhode Island attorney. Obviously, you should follow their advice with respect to the deposition.

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 probably don't need to hire an Exeter, Rhode Island 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.