Litigation Lawyers in Hilton Head Island

Depositions are part of the discovery procedure in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina civil litigation.

"Discovery" is a procedure that happens before a trial in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. During the discovery process, both sides are obligated to make relevant information available to each other.

One of the most effective ways to receive information relevant to a lawsuit in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina 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 individual 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 mainly 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 Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

If the parties believe that a witness in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina won't be able to show up in court to testify during trial, because of age, bad health, upcoming military deployment, possible incarceration, or any other reason, a deposition is a very good way to get their testimony on the record before the trial. Also, if they have to be questioned for several days, it is a good way to save the court's time.

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina civil depositions can go on for a long time - sometimes going for a week or more. If you get subpoenaed to provide your testimony in a Hilton Head Island, South Carolina civil deposition, this could prove to be incredibly inconvenient.

To help deal with this fact, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina 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 favorable to one side, and omitting information that's unfavorable. This would be bribery, and it is highly illegal.

If you are called to a deposition in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, it's absolutely essential 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 Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Lawyer Help?

If you are the plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit, you almost definitely already have a Hilton Head Island, South Carolina 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 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 Hilton Head Island, South Carolina 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.