Litigation Lawyers in Rice Lake

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

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

In Rice Lake, 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 Rice Lake, Wisconsin

Depositions are normally conducted in Rice Lake, 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.

Rice Lake, Wisconsin civil depositions can go on for a long time - occasionally going for a week or more. If you get subpoenaed to give your testimony in a Rice Lake, Wisconsin civil deposition, this could prove to be incredibly inconvenient.

Therefore, Rice Lake, Wisconsin's civil procedure rules authorize a person to be compensated for the time and money they spend in appearing at a deposition. If the witness lives far away from the location of the deposition, as is sometimes the case in large trials, they can be reimbursed for travel and lodging expenses, and compensated for their time. However, this money cannot be used to influence HOW they testify, just to mitigate the inconvenience associated with testifying.

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

If you are the defendant or plaintiff in a lawsuit, chances are good that you'll have to appear in a deposition. You should, by this point, already be represented by a Rice Lake, Wisconsin civil litigation attorney. You should do whatever they tell you to do (unless, of course, they tell you to lie, in which case you should find a new lawyer).

If you are not directly immersed in the lawsuit, you might still have to appear at a deposition, if you have information that's relevant to the case in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. 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.