Litigation Lawyers in Oconto

Civil depositions occur during Oconto, Wisconsin civil litigation, as part of the discovery process.

"Discovery" is a process that occurs before a trial in Oconto, Wisconsin. During the discovery process, both sides are required to make relevant information available to each other.

In Oconto, 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 Oconto, Wisconsin

Depositions are normally conducted in Oconto, Wisconsin 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 Oconto, Wisconsin can go on for a very long time. If you are called to appear in a deposition in Oconto, Wisconsin, this can be a massive headache.

Because of this fact, the law in Oconto, Wisconsin 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 particular way ceases to be compensation, and becomes bribery, which is a crime.

If you are called to a deposition in Oconto, 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 Oconto, Wisconsin Lawyer Help?

If you're a party to an Oconto, Wisconsin 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 the case, but have relevant information, you might be subpoenaed to appear in a deposition. In this case, you probably don't need to hire an Oconto, Wisconsin litigation attorney, but it would not be a bad idea to seek out a brief consultation with one, to get an idea of what to expect.