Litigation Lawyers in Clintonville

Civil depositions happen during Clintonville, Wisconsin civil litigation, as part of the discovery procedure.

"Discovery" is a procedure that happens before a trial in Clintonville, Wisconsin. During the discovery process, both sides are obligated to make relevant information available to each other.

In Clintonville, Wisconsin, one way to get relevant evidence is to ask individuals 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 Clintonville, Wisconsin

Depositions in Clintonville, Wisconsin serve a very significant purpose: receiving 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, possible incarceration, or any other reason.

It should not be any shock, then, that civil depositions in Clintonville, Wisconsin can go on for a very long time. If you are contacted to appear in a deposition in Clintonville, Wisconsin, this can be a massive headache.

To help mitigate this inconvenience, Clintonville, Wisconsin 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.

If you are called to a deposition in Clintonville, Wisconsin, it's absolutely necessary 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 Clintonville, Wisconsin Lawyer Help?

If you're a party to a Clintonville, Wisconsin 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're not a party to a lawsuit in Clintonville, Wisconsin, but have knowledge about some of the facts that are at issue in a pending case, you might still be contacted to appear in a deposition. In that case, you likely don't need to hire a lawyer.