Keep your answers short and concise.

Oftentimes, witnesses add in extra information, that’s not necessary or relevant to the question. This information can sometimes turn out to hurt the witness’ case. If you are asked your name, your answer should be “John Smith.” You should not say “My name is John Smith, I’m 24 years old, I live in Worcester, and I had oatmeal for breakfast.” Keep in mind that your own attorney can ask you questions after the other attorney has stopped, if he/she feels that there is some important testimony that should be put on the record.

Don’t guess.

If you don’t specifically recall something it is always better to say, “I don’t recall” and stop, rather than saying “Well I think that…”, and offering some possible response that you’re not sure of.

Don’t answer questions you don’t understand.

You always have the right to ask the questioner to repeat or rephrase a question if you’re not sure what was asked, or you simply don’t understand what the questioner said.

Don’t try to “outfox” the questioner.

Many witnesses, especially those not fully prepared, assume that they should try to beat the questioning attorney at their own game. They try to think several questions ahead and worry how their answer might harm their case. The end result is that a witness comes across sounding like they are lying or being evasive. Usually the information a witness is trying to omit comes out anyway- so don’t try to hide it! You are always better off answering  the specific question directly and truthfully, rather than trying to give evasive or hostile responses.

Attorneys use depositions in civil cases as critical tools for establishing the facts and winning your case, either at trial or through settlement. At O’Connor and Ryan, our attorneys have extensive trial experience, and we’ve taken and defended thousands of depositions over the years.

We fully prepare and protect our clients in any deposition where they are the witness. In addition, we look at all potential witnesses that we should question in your case, and thoroughly question the opposing party, or third party witnesses, in depositions as well.

For more on Depositions, click here.

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A fact finding mission. The party being questioned is required to answer any question posed by the attorney that may lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. This is a very broad category regarding admissible questions, and, assuming they’re properly served with a Subpoena, if necessary, the witness is required to answer. Thus, even reluctant witnesses that may not want to get involved can be compelled to answer and to testify regarding their knowledge of the events at issue. (The attorney also gets the opportunity to observe and evaluate the demeanor of the witness, i.e. does the witness seem to be telling the truth, or do they appear to be overly nervous and evasive, based on their appearance while testifying.

To provide predictability regarding Trial testimony. The Deposition Transcript will be in the possession of the attorney if and when the case proceeds to Trial. Assuming that the attorney has asked the necessary questions in the Deposition, he or she can reasonably rely upon the witness giving the same testimony in court, at a Trial. If a witness to a car accident testifies at the Deposition that Party A ran a red light and struck Party B on July 1, 2018 at 2 PM, on a rainy day, the attorneys will reasonably expect the same testimony at Trial. If the witness at Trial testifies differently, he or she can be impeached with the Deposition testimony during cross-examination.

How the purpose of a Deposition is decided

The nature of a Deposition will depend on the type of underlying case that is before the court. For instance, in a Divorce proceeding involving a 20 year marriage, the Husband or Wife involved can be questioned regarding any and all events and issues that impacted the marriage during that entire period. In the case of the July 1st car accident noted above the testimony of the parties and or witnesses will focus on how the car accident occurred on that specific day.

In every case, the probability of winning or losing at Trial is often greatly affected by the Deposition testimony that preceded Trial, and the nature of any settlement of the case will often be determined. Thus, the Deposition(s) must be taken very seriously. Certainly if you are a party to the lawsuit, your attorney will want to meet with you before your Deposition to review the questions likely to be asked, your responses to the questions, and to discuss general rules you should follow in providing answers.

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