The Seven Golden Rules for Depositions
You are set to give a deposition in a court proceeding, now what? A deposition is a question and answer session under oath in a Court case. Civil cases, criminal cases, family law cases and almost all other types of Court cases have depositions. A deposition usually starts with a notice (if you are a party in the case) or a subpoena (when you are not a party in the case). The notice or subpoena will require you to appear at a certain date and time. Sometimes the notice or subpoena require you to bring certain documents with you. This is called a deposition duces tecum. A deposition may be set at various locations, such as a lawyer's office, a Court reporter's office or at Court. A deposition is a Court proceeding, but there is no judge present. Typically, the people who attend a deposition are the lawyers, a court reporter, sometimes a videographer and the person being deposed. Even though a deposition may take place in an informal setting, do not be fooled, it is a formal process and it is important.
Typically, you are asked to give a deposition when you are part of a lawsuit, or you are a witness in a legal matter. Before you show up, remember, a deposition is forever. If you say something stupid, wrong or offensive, it is typed up and kept forever. No deposition should be taken lightly, unless you enjoy looking foolish or worse, untruthful. Remember, if it is important enough for someone to take your deposition, it is important enough for you to do it correctly.
The only things deposition testimony and conversation have in common is they involve speaking. Unlike a conversation, a deposition is an interrogation. An interrogation is when one person asks questions and the other person answers the questions. Most people are not used to being interrogated, the process can be intimidating and awkward. A deposition is a question and answer session done under oath while a court reporter types down your answers. When the deposition is complete, the court reporter prepares a transcript, which is a word for word typed out book of everything said during the deposition. If you want to avoid looking foolish, or worse, know the seven golden rules for deposition testimony:
1. Answer Only the Question Asked;
2. Do Not Interrupt;
3. Answer With Words;
4. Do Not Think Out Loud;
5. Do Not Guess;
6. Avoid Always and Never; and,
7. Do Not Get Angry.
Rule 1, Answer Only the Question Asked. Remember, a deposition is not a conversation, it is an interrogation. An interrogation is a question and answer session. Wait for the question, then answer only the question they asked. When you have answered the question, stop talking and wait for a new question. If you have not been asked a question, you should not be talking. One question gets one answer. The shortest, most direct answer is typically the best. In fact, if yes or no is a complete and accurate answer to the question, simply say yes or no. If a truthful answer requires more than yes or no, then give the answer, but be brief and be direct.
I tell clients to think that they are paying for every word they say during a deposition. Long answers with lots of words cost more. This sounds funny, but it is actually true in many instances. For my clients, I usually purchase a copy of their deposition. The longer the deposition, the more expensive it is to purchase. Ultimately, it is the client's money that pays for the deposition, usually as a cost item deducted from their personal injury recovery.
Why is it important to give a short direct answer? Short direct answers sound truthful, confident and persuasive. Have you asked someone a simple question only to have them responded with some long winded explanation that never answers your question? What do you think when that happens? You think the person doesn't know the answer or they know the answer and they are trying to avoid telling you the truth. When you avoid giving a direct answer, people will assume you are lying or hiding something. Remember, answer the question, answer it directly and when you are done answering the question, stop talking.
Rule 2, Do Not Interrupt. In other words, let them finish the entire question before you begin to answer. Do not interrupt the question. In conversation this would be bad manners. In a deposition, it will make you look like a fool. A question can change based on something at the end of the question. As an example, assume a question starts, "have you had back pain", and you interrupt with a "yes" before they finished. Your deposition transcript may look very bad when the completed question is typed out as "have you had back pain, before the car accident?" You interrupt and answer a question thinking they were asking about back pain after the car accident but the question was about back pain before the accident.
Not only is it best to wait for the entire question, but you should try to wait a full 2 seconds after the question before you begin your answer. First, this will make sure they are done with the question. Second, it will give your lawyer a chance to object if that is necessary. Lastly, it will give you time to think before you start to answer.
Rule 3, Answer with Words. A deposition is transcribed, or typed out, by a court reporter. They can only type words. Even when a deposition is videotaped, the official record is the typed version of the deposition. Avoid answering questions with a gesture, like shaking your head for no or holding your hands apart to indicate something was "this big." If you want your thought to be clear, say no instead of shaking your head. If you want to describe the size of something, do not hold your hands apart to indicate "this big", give a unit of measurement. If you cannot give a measurement, give a comparison, such as saying something was as big as basketball or the length of a car.
Avoid the dreaded "Uh-huh" and "Un-uh". If you mean yes, say yes, not "Uh-huh." If you mean no, say no, not Un-uh. It would be a real shame if they ask, "are you guilty of murder" and you mean to say no, but you say Un-uh and it gets typed as Uh-huh. You can spend the rest of your life in jail thinking how much easier it would have been to say "no" to that question.
