How to Provide Deposition Testimony - An Overview

If you ever become a party in a lawsuit, or if you are a witness that has knowledge relevant to the facts in a lawsuit, you may have to provide deposition testimony. A deposition is a pretrial discovery device in which one party's lawyer asks questions of another party or a witness in the case in order to gather information. The deposition is conducted under oath and usually takes place in a lawyer's office. A written transcript will be made of the deposition by a court reporter, and the deposition may be videotaped. As a party or witness, you should have your own lawyer at the deposition to protect your rights.

In providing a deposition, your primary responsibility is to simply answer the questions by telling the truth. Because you are under oath, and a deposition is the equivalent to providing testimony in a court of law, you will be committing the crime of perjury if you do not tell the truth. In order to answer truthfully, be sure that you listen carefully to each question and that you understand the question before you provide an answer. If you do not understand or cannot hear the question, ask the questioner to repeat or rephrase the question.

While you are to be truthful, answer solely the question that is asked, and there is no need to volunteer unnecessary information. The only exception to this is if the extra information is critical to the understanding and correctness of your answer. When you provide your answers, speak audibly and do not use head nods or gestures so that the court reporter may make a clear record. Before answering a question at the deposition, you should pause for just a second or two and think about your answer. This will allow you to provide truthful, accurate and concise answers, and it will also provide your attorney the opportunity to object if the question is improper or defective.

Further, if you do not know or remember the answer to a question, you should simply answer, "I don't know" or "I don't remember." You should never guess or speculate what you believe the answer might be. You are not expected to remember every detail at the deposition because your deposition will usually take place months or even years after the underlying events in the lawsuit occurred. Moreover, If you need to see a document in order to provide a truthful and correct answer, reference the document in your answer.

When taking a break at the deposition or when the deposition is concluded, avoid chatting with opposing counsel. Do not take the risk that you will say something in these "friendly" conversations that will harm your case, or that may open up a new line of questioning from the opposing attorney. Finally, follow your attorneys' advice at the deposition. For example, if your attorney instructs you not to answer a question, do not provide an answer.