Litigation Lawyers in La Feria

Depositions are part of the discovery process in La Feria, Texas civil litigation.

The discovery process in La Feria, Texas is one of the most important parts of the civil litigation process. During the discovery phase, each side of the lawsuit is required to make all of the relevant information it has in its possession available to the other side.

In La Feria, Texas, one way to obtain relevant evidence is to ask people involved in the dispute (both parties and witnesses) about their knowledge of the matter. This is done through a civil deposition. It is essentially a question and answer session between a lawyer, and a witness or party to the action. A lawyer for the other side is present, as well as a court reporter or videographer. The lawyer asks questions of the person being deposed, who must answer them under oath.

Conducting A Civil Deposition in La Feria, Texas

Depositions in La Feria, Texas 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.

Civil Depositions in La Feria, Texas, can take a very long time to be completed, usually lasting several days, and sometimes going on for weeks. So, people who are called to give depositions in La Feria, Texas should be prepared for some significant inconvenience.

To help mitigate this inconvenience, La Feria, Texas allows 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 being deposed in La Feria, Texas you absolutely must answer all the questions truthfully and completely, to the best of your knowledge. You are under oath, and if you lie, and are caught, you could be charged with perjury, which can carry jail time.

How Can A La Feria, Texas Lawyer Help?

If you are the plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit, you almost certainly already have a La Feria, 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 La Feria, Texas. You probably 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.