You’re getting the mail one day when something stands out from all the junk mail and utility bills: A subpoena for a court case. Your first instinct might be to panic and think you’re in trouble, however that’s rarely the case. Court depositions are serious matters, but they’re not typically designed to trap you. When you walk into a deposition, you aren’t going to walk into a scene from some sort of legal drama on network TV.
Here’s some information that will help you understand court depositions.
The discovery process
When someone files a civil suit, it doesn’t go immediately to trial. First, there has to be something called the discovery process. A discovery process is where both sides request relevant documents and witness testimony, among other things. If you’re being deposed, it’s because at least one of the sides thinks you have relevant testimony to give. In short, the discovery process is a way for both sides to collect evidence and determine their next steps.
In some cases, a judge may order one side to hand over relevant documents to the other side. But a judge won’t appear during a deposition. Depositions are not held in courtrooms. They’re generally conducted with only three parties present. The first party is the person being deposed. They’re sometimes known as the deponent. The second party is at least one lawyer, although there can be a team of lawyers. If you’re subpoenaed by the plaintiff, then a plaintiff’s attorney obviously has to be there to ask questions. In this case, a defendant’s attorney may also be present to monitor the situation and object, although objections work differently in a setting where there’s no judge.
The third and final party is a court reporter. Those aren’t typically too hard to find, as there are court reporters in every jurisdiction. So if the deposition is happening in Florida, then one or more court reporters in West Palm Beach may appear to make a recording of the deposition. The court reporter is not on any side except, arguably, the side of truth. They’re there to take down an accurate recording, not to judge which side sounds better.
What questions you’ll be asked
The questions aren’t always easy to predict. A lot depends on the information the lawyers already have. They may be counting on you to fill in gaps in their information. This doesn’t mean you’re in trouble if you say you don’t remember something. But it’s important to be honest. You’ll be giving sworn testimony, which means you’ll be asked to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
What if you don’t want to be deposed? You’re commanded to appear, not requested. So you can’t really say no. If you really wanted to get out of it for whatever reason, you could hire a lawyer and try to get the subpoena quashed. But that’s a long, drawn-out process. In most cases, you’re better off just giving the deposition so you can get it over with.
You may also be asked to provide certain documents or information, if you have any supporting evidence to back up your testimony. Let’s say you’re testifying in a sexual harassment case from work. A coworker, Joan, is alleging that another coworker, Fred, sexually harassed her, and that management knew about it but didn’t act. In this hypothetical case, you’ll be asked if you ever saw Fred do or say anything to Joan that seemed like harassment. If you have text messages from Fred where he admits to asking Joan detailed questions about her sex life, that’s evidence.
If you’re asked to bring phone records or copies of the texts, you should do everything possible to comply. You can’t show up and stall, for instance, by saying you have a cracked phone screen. If that happens, you need to look into iPhone screen repair well before the deposition begins. There’s no need to waste anybody’s time during a deposition. It will be better for everyone if you present your testimony as efficiently as possible.