Legally Deposition can be defined as out of court recorded sworn testimony of a witness before the trial and without a judge for discovery purposes, which can also be used in the court. The witness is put under the oath and both lawyers from each party records the questions and answers. Thus, if the witness is not present during the trial, his deposition can be used for testimony. In a way, deposition can be described as discovery purpose (fact-finding) or part of the pre-trial discovery process.
The process of Deposition can be summed up as follows:
The necessity of Deposition in any civil cause, before the trial arises in the below given reasons:
The deposition can me recorded before any chancellor, justice, or judge of a supreme or superior court, mayor, or chief magistrate of a city, or judge of a county court or court of common pleas of any of the United States, not being of counsel or attorney to either of the parties, or interested in the event of the cause. The deposition can be taken after the notification of the magistrate and shall be retained by him till he delivers it personally to the court for which it was taken, along with certification for any of the aforesaid deposition reasons. Such written deposition are put under the seal and retained. The seal is only opened in the court. It should also be noted that any person can be compelled to appear and make the deposition, in the similar manner that are carried out in the court for appearing and testifying.
Below given Deposition Form template will guide you, when you take the deposition of a witness:
Deposition Form template
(Name, Address Of Party or attorney)
____________
____________
____________
State Bar No: ______
Attorney for _______ (Or "In Pro Per")
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF ________________
COUNTY OF ________
[PLAINTIFF(S) NAMES] ) CASE NO: _______
)
Plaintiffs, ) NOTICE OF TAKING DEPOSITION OF
)
) AND PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS
)
v. )
)
[DEFENDANT(S) NAMES] _____________
Defendants )
_________________________________________________
To the parties who have appeared in the above cause of action,and their attorneys of record:
YOU ARE NOTIFIED that on __________ [date], at __________[time], __________ [plaintiff or defendant or as the case may be] will take the oral deposition of __________ [name of party or party-affiliated deponent], the __________ [plaintiff or defendant or as the case may be] in this action, at __________[the office of __________ (name of law firm) or as the case may be], located at __________ [address], __________ [city],__________ County, ________________. The deposition will continue from day to day until completed.__________
[If party deponent is not a natural person, add the following: Deponent is __________ (a corporation organized and existing under the laws of ________________ or as the case may be). __________ (Deposing party) intends to examine deponent about the following matters at deposition: __________ (list matters on which examination is requested with reasonable particularity).]__________[If deposing party seeks production of any
materials at deposition, add one of the following:]
[EITHER] Deponent is required to produce at deposition the following materials at the time and location set forth above: __________
[describe materials with reasonable particularity] [OR]
Deponent is required to produce at the deposition the materials described in Exhibit __ attached to this notice and incorporated by reference.
__________ [If deposing party intends to audio or video tape deposition in addition to stenographically recording it, add the following: Pursuant to section 2025(l)(1) of the Code
of Civil Procedure, __________ (deposing party) intends to record __________ (plaintiff's or defendant's) deposition stenographically, and by __________ (audio or video) tape.]
__________ [If deposing party intends to use at trial a video tape of a party deponent who is an expert witness or treating or consulting physician, add the following: Pursuant
to section 2025(u)(4) of the Code of Civil Procedure, __________ (deposing party) intends to reserve the right to use at trial the video tape deposition of __________ (plaintiff or
defendant), who is __________ (an expert witness or a treating or consulting physician) in this case.]
[EITHER] The parties or attorneys representing parties served with this notice are: __________ [list parties or counsel served with notice].
[OR]
The Proof of Service attached to this notice contains a list of the parties and attorneys on whom this notice has been served.
Dated __________.
(Signature)__________
DATED:__________
Section 80. Form Of Deposition
The Deposition of……………….., of the
County of………………………….and State of………………………………., a witness of lawful age, produced, sworn and examined, upon of……………………, in the County of……
……corporal oath, on the………………..day of…………………., in the year of our Lord
One Thousand Nine Hundred and…………….., at……………….., in the………………..
………………………and State aforesaid, by me…………………………, a Commissioner, duly appointed by a Dedimus Potestatum or Commission issued out of the Clerk’s office of the………
Court of…………………………….County, in the State of…………………., bearing Teste in the name of………………….Esq., Clerk of said………………………Court, with the seal of the said Court affixed thereto, and to me directed as such Commissioner, for the examination of the said…………………………. , a witness in a certain suit and matter in controversy now pending and undetermined in said…………………..Court, wherein _____________ is plaintiff, and ______________ is defendant, on behalf of the said plaintiff, upon interrogatories to be propounded to said witness orally, pursuant to the notice attached to the said Commission and herewith also enclosed, and upon none others. The said…………………., being first duly sworn by…………………………, as a witness in said cause, previous to the commencement of……………………..examination, to testify the truth as well on the part of the plaintiff as of the defendant, in relation to the matters in controversy between the said plaintiff and defendant, so far as………..should be interrogated, testified and deposed as follows:
Then follows interrogatory first, etc.
And any person may be compelled to appear and depose as aforesaid, in the same manner as to appear and testify in court. And in the trial of any cause of admiralty or maritime jurisdiction in a district court, the decree in which may be appealed from, if either party shall suggest to and satisfy the court, that probably it will not be in his power to produce the witnesses there testifying before the circuit court should an appeal be had, and shall move that their testimony shall be taken down in writing, it shall be so done by the clerk of the court. And if an appeal be had, such testimony may be used on the trial of the same, if it shall appear to the satisfaction of the court, which shall try the appeal, that the witnesses are then dead, or gone out of the United States, or to, a greater distance than as aforesaid, from the place where the court is sitting; or that, by reason of age, sickness, bodily infirmity, or imprisonment, they are unable to travel or, appear at court, but not otherwise. And unless the same shall be made to appear on the trial of any cause, with respect to witnesses whose depositions may have been taken therein, such depositions shall not be admitted or used in the cause. Provided, that nothing herein shall be construed to prevent any court of the United States from granting a dedimus potestatem, to take depositions according to common usage when it may be necessary to prevent a failure or delay of justice; which power they shall severally possess nor to extend to depositions taken in perpetuam rei memoriam, which, if they relate to matters that may be cognizable in any court of the United States, a circuit court, on application thereto made as a court of equity, may, according to the usages in chancery, direct to be taken.
The clerk of any court of the United States within which a witness resides or where he is found, is allowed to issue a subpoena to compel the attendance of such witness, and a neglect of the witness to attend may be punished by the court whose clerk has issued the subpoena, as a contempt. And when papers are wanted by the parties litigant, the judge of the court within which they are, may issue a subpoena duces tecum, and enforce obedience by punishment for a contempt.
Eccl. Law. The act of depriving a clergyman, by a competent tribunal, of his clerical orders, to punish him for some offence, and to prevent his acting in future in his clerical character.