As a Ventura County personal injury lawyer can explain, federal laws and statutes allow lawyers on both sides to interview everyone who will be offering testimony in a case. This pre-trial interview process is known as the deposition. The purpose of a deposition is to allow lawyers on both sides to learn what the other side knows. This is part of a larger process called discovery, which is how lawyers gather information about a lawsuit.
Assessing Witnesses
In addition to learning the facts of a case, the deposition allows an attorney to learn additional things about the opposing party, such as his or her demeanor, openness or evasiveness. This can help a lawyer to see how this person may come across to a jury. A deposition also gives a Ventura County personal injury lawyer a chance to ask follow-up questions to statements made by witnesses.
Establishing Facts
At a deposition, legal counsel for both sides have a chance to learn what witnesses will be saying, how they will be saying it and what their reasons are for what they will be saying. The lawyer can then use this information to look at the evidence and figure out the best approach or argument for the trial.
Paring Down Issues
According to a Ventura County personal injury lawyer, the deposition allows both sides the chance to narrow down the issues and streamline the case before the trial. For instance, a lawyer may use a series of questions in a car accident case as follows:
- Do you agree that you were driving a blue Honda Accord at the time of the accident?
- Can we agree that you had a red light when you drove into the intersection?
- Did you tell the police officer that you were sending a text message right before the accident?
- Is it true that you noticed that the plaintiff had her seatbelt on right after the crash?
- You also told the officer that you only glanced up the split-second before the collision? Is that correct?
- Is it a fact that the roads were slick due to a snow-storm at the time of the incident?
Seeking a Ventura County Personal Injury Attorney
If you wish to speak with a lawyer about a personal injury case, please call the office of Gary Mitchell at 888-452-1846.
