Litigation Lawyers in Woodinville

Civil depositions occur during Woodinville, Washington civil litigation, as part of the discovery process.

In Woodinville, Washington, "discovery" is a process that occurs before a civil trial, during which both sides are required to disclose relevant evidence to the other.

One way to acquire this information in Woodinville, Washington is to conduct a deposition. A deposition, at its core, is a fairly simple process. A deposition is a question and answer session conducted outside the courtroom. Usually, it takes place in the office space of an attorney representing one of the parties. There are a few people who are almost always present at the deposition: there's the person being deposed, the lawyer who is going to be asking the questions, a lawyer representing the other side of the lawsuit, who can object to any questions being asked (a judge can rule on the objections later), and a court reporter or video recorder, to ensure that the testimony ends up on the record.

Conducting A Civil Deposition in Woodinville, Washington

Depositions are usually conducted in Woodinville, Washington if a person's testimony will take several days, or more, to deliver. By doing this before a trial, the jury can be presented just with the testimony that turns out to be relevant, saving everybody a good deal of time. It is also useful if there is any reason to suspect that the witness will be unable to show up in court.

It should not be any surprise, then, that civil depositions in Woodinville, Washington can go on for a very long time. If you are called to appear in a deposition in Woodinville, Washington, this can be a major headache.

Because of this fact, the law in Woodinville, Washington allows witnesses who are appearing for depositions to be compensated for the expense associated with it. This includes reimbursement for gas, lodging, and food. They can also be paid a certain amount of money for every hour they testify, to compensate them for their time. However, this money can only be conditioned on the witness showing up and giving truthful testimony. Trying to condition it on the witness testifying in a certain way ceases to be compensation, and becomes bribery, which is a crime.

If you are called to a deposition in Woodinville, Washington, 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 Woodinville, Washington Lawyer Help?

If you're a party to a Woodinville, Washington lawsuit and are required 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're not a party to a lawsuit in Woodinville, Washington, but have knowledge about some of the facts that are at issue in a pending case, you might still be called to appear in a deposition. In that case, you probably don't need to hire a lawyer.