When I was sent out to attend my first deposition, I had a general idea of how everything was supposed to proceed. Unfortunately, I was immediately knocked off my game when prior to the commencement of the deposition all the lawyers agreed to the “usual stipulations.” Not wanting to look like an inexperienced newbie, I agreed.
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GOVERNOR BROWN SIGNS BILL LIMITING DEPOSITIONS TO SEVEN HOURS:
On Monday, September 17, 2012, Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill 1875 which will limit depositions to one seven (7) hour day. This law conforms with the federal rules and becomes effective on January 1, 2013. The enactment of the legislation will add Section 2025.290 to the Code of Civil Procedure which will read as follows:
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Can You Take a Deposition in Seven Hours?
On February 22, 2012 Assemblyman Mike Gatto introduced Assembly Bill 1875 which would add §2025.290 to the California Code of Civil Procedure. If the bill is passed it would limit the time to take a deposition. The proposed new section would read:
Unless otherwise stipulated to or ordered by the court, a deposition is limited to one day of seven hours. The court shall allow additional time if needed to fairly examine the deponent or if the deponent, another person, or any other circumstance impedes or delays the examination.
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Tips and Tricks for Taking Telephonic Depositions
Ran across this helpful blog for taking telephonic depositions by Kramm Court Reporters that I wanted to share with you.
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Everyone is looking for opportunities to save costs these days in litigation. Many attorneys are choosing to take depositions telephonically so as to incur travel costs and to save travel time. Here are some ideas on how to make the telephonic deposition go smoothly.Continue Reading Tips and Tricks for Taking Telephonic Depositions
Impeaching the Expert Witness
The case specifics may provide an opportunity to impeach a witness. This usually arises when a witness (expert or lay witness) has a financial interest in an aspect of the case or in the outcome. The financial interest may go beyond the obvious financial benefit of being retained in the case or being paid to travel first class to the trial. Financial benefit may even go to the opportunity to be retained in other similar cases.
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Impeaching the Witness with Character Evidence
Impeachment by character evidence is the use of a personal trait to impair credibility. There are essentially four methods to impeach using character evidence: defects in perception, defects in recollection, felony convictions and past misconduct.
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Using Prior Inconsistent Statements and Conduct
Perhaps the most effective and most frequently used form of impairing credibility is proof of a statement or conduct by the witness that is inconsistent with the trial testimony. (Ev. C. § 780(h) (pdf)) The inconsistency need not be a complete contradiction. The test is whether the prior statement is inconsistent in effect with the trial testimony. People v. Spencer (1969) 71 Cal.2d 933 (pdf), 941.
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Cross-Examination to Impair Witness Credibility
Cross-examination goals essentially boil down to 1) developing facts which support your case, 2) harm the defense case and 3) impair credibility. You must carefully analyze the first two goals before you decide to impair the credibility of a witness.
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DEPOSITONS–What are the Real Objections?
In the spirit of my most recent blog, “OBJECTION!! There’s this case that says . . . ” , here is a list of proper and improper objections to deposition questions that you should also keep in the back of your legal pad.
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“OBJECTION” — There’s this case that says…
Have you ever been in a middle of a deposition and found yourself saying “OBJECTION!! There’s this case that says . . . ” but you can’t quite remember what the name was, where you saw it or even where you might find it? And, yet, it is right on point. Well, the following is a list of cases and statutes for depositions that you should keep in the back of your legal pad as they may come in handy.
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