A deposition is a formal procedure that occurs before a trial, wherein a witness is interrogated under oath and formally recorded by an attorney. It is also done to record testimony, gather pertinent information, and assess the reliability of a witness’ statement. Some things that need to be done are punctuality, preparation, honesty in answers and responses, and the ability to engage an attorney whenever necessary. With the proper knowledge of how things work and with the right preparation, people can safeguard their rights and seek justice.
Those who are likely to participate in a deposition need to be clear about the accused’s deposition methods and how to prepare for the deposition constructively.
What is a Deposition?
A deposition is an out-of-court statement made under oath by a witness, taken before a trial. For the most part, it does two things: It seeks to learn what the witness knows and preserve that witness’s testimony. There’s an intent to enable the parties to know all the facts ahead of the trial so that no one gets sandbagged.
Type of Legal Deposition
Here are a few types of legal deposition for legal purpose cases:
Oral Deposition
Does not directly concern the court. They come from the parties and are overseen by the parties. Historically, oral depositions were recorded by stenographers, but now electronic recordings are the norm.
Written Deposition
The parties submit questions in advance, and a neutral third party, such as a process server or a notary public, asks the questions of the deponent. The third party, in the case here, swears the answers of the deponent all the answers are to be done through him/her, although he/she can be present.
Why are depositions held?
Depositions are done to help in the discovery phase. During discovery, the parties collect information to “discover” or find out all the facts of the case before trial. Discovery is designed to make sure no one is blindsided when the witness takes the stand on.
What happened during a deposition?
Swearing in the witness
First, the court reporter will administer the oath and inform the deponent of the rules of the deposition. This involves swearing to tell the truth, refraining from speaking over the attorney, taking the deposition, responding with only complete statements, not guessing, and answering only the questions they know.
An additional question asked of the deponent will be to confirm that he is not under the influence of alcohol or drugs and that he is ready to give the deposition.
How Long Depositions Take?
Depositions used to last days, but legislation in 1999 changed this rule. According to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and its state equivalents, a deposition cannot last more than 7 consecutive hours. With breaks, however, this can add up to a total of 8-10 hours
How to prepare for Deposition?
Being a deponent can be challenging, especially if you’ve never done it before. Follow these guidelines to prepare for a deposition.
Collaborate with a skilled attorney
Before you do anything else, make sure you are working with a quality lawyer. The right attorney can do the background work to help you prepare, including gathering evidence, collecting documentation, and coaching you on the deposition rules.
Consult for guidance on responding to questions
Your attorney can address questions or concerns you may have about your deposition and conduct mock sessions to help you feel confident and prepared for the big day.
Here are 5 deposition steps:
- Be honest and tell the truth
- Only answer questions that are asked
- Stay Calm
- Stay true to your answer
- Use good manner
Make Sure you feel protected
Ensure that you feel supported by your attorney. A reliable attorney should provide assistance and guidance before, during, and after your deposition.
Deposition Objective
The attorney on the opposing side can make deposition objections to avoid allowing the attorney for the other side to ask you questions that are inaccurate, confusing, or misleading. They can also object to the time and place of a deposition to make sure the deposition is held at a reasonable location.
Objections made by deposition include:
Form objections: are concerns as to the wording of a question. An objection to form would be a compound question. This is an objection for when lawyers ask two or more questions in one sentence.
Relevancy objection: It is an objection to the relevancy of a question. Lawyers may also object to an irrelevant question because it may emotionally agitate the deponent or cast the deponent’s character in a negative light.
Privilege objections: impose protection to records through statute-imbued privilege or by common law.
What happened after the deposition?
Attorneys for each party will receive a copy of the deposition transcript. The deponent should read through the entire deposition transcript and identify any errors.
Best practice: Talk to your transcript over with your legal team and flag any potential hot potato areas. If the deponent said something at the deposition that contradicted the truth, some answers might be revised.
If no settlement can be reached, the deposition can be used at the trial as evidence. Specifically, the deposition can be used to impeach a witness (prove that a witness is lying) or to refresh a witness’s memory.
Is it possible to decline to answer a question during a deposition?
In the majority of cases, a deponent cannot refuse to answer a deposition question unless the response would disclose privileged or irrelevant personal information, or the information already was the subject of a court prohibition.
Can you get out of a deposition?
In some cases, it is possible not to go through the deposition at all or, at the very least, avoid it depending on the jurisdiction and other circumstances. For instance, under the law of Washington State regarding deposition known as Civil Rule 26, a court may grant an order putting a stop to the discovery process or deposition for a particular deponent.
However, this protection is only available if a deponent moves for one and demonstrates that skipping the deposition would shield the deponent from oppression, annoyance, embarrassment, or undue burden or cost.
Deponent means that the deposition process may leave one with many questions if he or she has never been a deponent before. Consult with a lawyer to seek advice on the rights of an employee in your state.
An experienced attorney can answer your deposition questions, give you legal advice, and defend you with a deposition.
Conclusion
An important feature of discovery is the deposition regarding which and how sworn testimony before trial is taken. A deposition is an important legal process that should be prepared well if the person delivering the statement is to have high levels of accuracy, confidence, and clarity. It is possible to familiarize yourself with this process, especially by reading the materials connected with it and rehearsing with your lawyer. In this article, you can learn proper approaches to your deposition and get some useful tips that will help to contribute constructively to the further investigation of the case.