how to give a deposition.

My friends,

Today I am going to school you in deposition giving. Back in high school, I took a speech class which made you get up and present on a variety of topics. One of those such topics was a "how to" type presentation. Ahhh, if only I had known that 11 years later, I'd have to know this stuff, I could have given the class a presentation on how to give a deposition. Alas, I did not and that's probably good as the class probably would have taken a snoozer during it. But, if you should ever find yourself in this position, I think this would be extremely helpful. It is also tongue in cheek as I am not allowed to talk details about anything. So rather than discuss what I cannot… I will give you a partial picture as to how I was prepped to give one. Remember, I am not an attorney! And, don't take this seriously as I was writing it more in a sarcastic tone than one of any authority :)

Purpose of Depositions: The purpose of giving a deposition, from our opponents viewpoint, is to get us to say things they can use at trial to undermine our testimony. Our fundamental objective is to give the opposition as little as possible they can use against us. A deposition is comparable to giving a rebuttal in a debate, except the main arguments have not been made. There is a lot more downside than upsides to depositions, so we should proceed with extreme caution. Cases cannot be won at depositions, but they can absolutely be lost. Your opponent is looking to discredit you and catch you in a lie at the trial. They are also hoping to figure out what sides of the case you plan to use and see what direction your attorney is going take.

Pace: Given our opponents desire to get us to say as much as possible that undermines our case, they will try to rush us into saying as much as possible as quickly as possible. Consequently, they will try to control the pace. You want to do the opposite, which is to take control of the pace of the interview. After they ask each question, begin by looking at your lawyer to see if he objects. Then you want to pause and think! After we have thought through what we want to say - and only then - should we give our answer. You want shorter depositions, the opposition wants them to go on forever.

Answer Capability: Really dirty and aggressive lawyers have a number of trick questions they use to intimidate and undermine witnesses. These questions fall in three broad categories: Overly Broad Questions, Hypothetical Questions, and Confusing Questions. If the opposition starts asking these kinds of questions, your attorney is likely to start objecting, and it’s important to figure out what trick the opposition is trying to pull before we answer.

Overly Broad Questions: These questions are a lot harder to recognize and trickier to respond to than you might think. When you meet with your lawyer, ask for some practice with these. For example: "Are there anything facts that your side and the opponent agree upon," You: Not Many, Dirty Attny: "So you say there are some points you agree on, can you name an example ..." You: Long pause, I cannot think of any. Stop right there as they are eating you for lunch. The better thing to do is recognize this is an overly broad question and answer "That's hard for me to answer – my opponent has not been deposed yet and I'm not a lawyer - why don't you tell me a point and I'll tell you if I think everyone agrees on that point or not."

Confusing Questions: If you cannot figure out what the opposition is asking, tell them so. If they begin any question with "Isn't it true that ...," they are trying to get you to agree to their theory of the case. The answer to this question is almost always "no."

Hypothetical Question: For example say that you are involved in a mental illness case (hypothetically of course) and no expert witness has yet testified reading is not a sign of mental incompetence, this is only a "what if one did" kind of a question. ALWAYS ANSWER A HYPOTHETICAL by starting off saying you are answering a hypothetical, i.e. "The answer to you hypothetical question assuming reading is not a factor ... is my hypothetical answer ...". This answer cannot then be used at trial to refute your testimony.

**I am not an attorney and take no liability for anything on this page!!**