Deposition

The Rules

We should take a printed copy of these rules to the deposition: https://www.courts.mo.gov/page.jsp?id=199672

Opening Formalities

1. Ask the court reporter if s/he is ready.
2. State in a loud, clear voice that the deposition is beginning.
3. Identify by name and connection to the case, everyone who is in the room:
   1. In the room we have myself, MJ, self-representing as and for the plaintiffs. The court reporter, __________, will be transcribing. Present in the room is defendant __________, and his counsel _________ . Other plaintiff could not attend.
   2. Ask the notary public to swear in the witness.
   3. Ask the witness to state his or her name and spell it.
   4. This is a deposition, in which I will ask you questions and you must answer them truthfully. This is a formal legal proceeding just like testifying in court, and you are under the same legal obligation to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. If you do not understand any of my questions, feel free to say so, and I will rephrase it. Before the deposition can be used in court, you will have the opportunity to read over it and correct any mistakes. Do you understand this?
   5. If the deponent was supposed to bring documents, ask for them to be produced. Give them to the court reporter and ask him/her to mark them as exhibit one, two, three, etc. Describe them verbally as you do, e.g. Reporter, please mark this ________________(describe content) as exhibit one.
   6. After they have been marked, ask the opposing attorney if s/he would like to see them, and put it on the record, e.g.:

Mr. Cochrane, would you like to see exhibit one?

Outline of topics to cover in deposition

1. Deponent's background

Name, address, age, date and place of birth, all places lived, social security number

The Art

• Nolo's Deposition Handbook - Archive - [https://archive.org/details/nolosdepositionh06edberg/page/n3/mode/1up
• The Deposition Tutorial - [1]

No-Show

• Need to docucument no-show on the record during the deposition. Then take it to the court. [2]. You can recover reasonable expenses, and court can impose sanctions on the offender.

About

• https://csattorneys.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Depositions.pdf

Cheatsheet - What to do for Lawyers

• U. Indiana Bloomington Law - Interesting perspective for how you handle your client - [3]

Links

• Deposition No-Show
• Civil Litigation Cost Model
• Deposition Costs