Litigation Lawyers in Bountiful

Depositions are part of the discovery procedure in Bountiful, Utah civil litigation.

The discovery procedure in Bountiful, Utah is one of the most significant parts of the civil litigation process. During the discovery phase, each side of the lawsuit is obligated to make all of the relevant information it has in its possession available to the other side.

In Bountiful, Utah, one way to obtain this information is to find the people involved in the dispute (whether they're witnesses or parties), and ask them questions about the issues you believe them to have knowledge of. A civil deposition is normally a pretty simple process: the person being deposed is sworn in (they are under oath, just as if they were in a courtroom). Because the whole point of a deposition is to get testimony on the record, a stenographer or video technician will also be present, recording the whole deposition. The lawyer then asks questions of the witness, and the lawyers for the other side are able to object to particular lines of questioning, if they wish.

Conducting A Civil Deposition in Bountiful, Utah

In Bountiful, Utah, the main reason to conduct a deposition, as opposed to having someone testify in court, is to save time. After days of depositions, the jury can be presented with just the relevant testimony, if the case goes to trial. Furthermore, it's a good idea to conduct a deposition if there's any reason to believe that the witness will not be able to show up to court to testify, due to bad health, or any other reason.

Civil Depositions in Bountiful, Utah, can take a very long time to be completed, normally lasting several days, and occasionally going on for weeks. So, people who are called to give depositions in Bountiful, Utah should be ready for some considerable inconvenience.

To help mitigate this inconvenience, Bountiful, Utah 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 significant problem: this would amount bribery, and it is a serious offense.

When giving a deposition in Bountiful, Utah, 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 starts, 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 Bountiful, Utah Lawyer Help?

If you're a party to a Bountiful, Utah lawsuit and are obligated to appear at a deposition, one would hope that you've already retained a lawyer by this stage in the proceedings. Your attorney will have a lot of advice for you, which you should of course follow.

If you are not a party to the lawsuit, but are subpoenaed to testify in a deposition, you should at least contact with a Bountiful, Utah attorney, who can advise you on how to proceed.