Litigation Lawyers in Oak Hill

Civil depositions happen during Oak Hill, West Virginia civil litigation, as part of the discovery procedure.

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

One way to receive this information in Oak Hill, West Virginia 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. Typically, 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 Oak Hill, West Virginia

Depositions in Oak Hill, West Virginia are meant to get verbal testimony on the record and into evidence, when there is concern that the individual being deposed might be unable to show up and testify at trial, or their testimony will take far too long for them to testify at trial.

It should not be any shock, then, that civil depositions in Oak Hill, West Virginia can go on for a very long time. If you are contacted to appear in a deposition in Oak Hill, West Virginia, this can be a huge headache.

Because of this fact, the law in Oak Hill, West Virginia permits 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 specific way ceases to be compensation, and becomes bribery, which is a crime.

If you are called to a deposition in Oak Hill, West Virginia, it's absolutely imperative 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 Oak Hill, West Virginia 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 time, already be represented by an Oak Hill, West Virginia civil litigation attorney. You should do whatever they tell you to do (unless, of course, they tell you to lie, in that case you should find a new lawyer).

If, on the other hand, you're not directly engaged in the case, but have been subpoenaed to appear in a deposition as a witness in Oak Hill, West Virginia, you may not need to hire a lawyer. The lawyers for both sides will probably prep you for the deposition, giving you an idea of what to expect.