Litigation Lawyers in Bell County

Depositions are part of the discovery procedure in Bell County, Texas civil litigation.

In Bell County, Texas, "discovery" is a time-consuming process that happens before a case goes to trial. In the process, each side of the lawsuit is legally obligated to disclose all of the relevant information they have in their possession to the other side.

One of the most effective ways to receive information relevant to a lawsuit in Bell County, Texas 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 Bell County, Texas

Depositions in Bell County, Texas 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.

Bell County, Texas 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 Bell County, Texas civil deposition, this could prove to be incredibly inconvenient.

To help deal with this fact, Bell County, Texas 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 Bell County, Texas, 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 Bell County, Texas Lawyer Help?

If you are the plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit, you almost definitely already have a Bell County, Texas 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 are not directly involved in the lawsuit, you might still have to appear at a deposition, if you have information that's relevant to the case in Bell County, Texas. You likely don't need to hire a lawyer in that case, but it might be a good idea to at least get a consultation from one.