Deck 12: Oral Depositions

Question 1

When a person disobeys a subpoena, he or she may be held in
.

Answer 1

contempt of court

Question 2

How much notice must a party give for taking a witness's deposition?

Answer 2

The Rules do not prescribe a time period for giving notice. The requirement is that the deponent and other parties are entitled to "reasonable" notice. What is reasonable varies depending upon the circumstances. As a general practice, parties try to give at least five days' notice. That is the minimum time allowed for noticing motions. It is common to give 30 days' notice and even more.

Question 3

The deponent may correct any errors in his or her testimony whether the errors are of or .

Answer 3

form; substance

Question 4

What changes may a deponent make in the deposition transcript by preparing a correction page provided by the court reporter?

Question 5

Lawyers often need deposition to abstract the essential information obtained through the deposition.

Question 6

DEFINE
depose

Question 7

A written statement which is made under oath and in which the deponent is not subject to cross-examination is called an .

Question 8

A lawyer or paralegal would likely make an to show that a deponent is not available to testify at trial, thereby making the deposition transcript admissible in lieu thereof.

Question 9

Under what circumstances may a paralegal take a person's deposition?

Question 10

What advantages does a deposition transcript have over a video-recorded deposition?

Question 11

What procedure does the deponent use or follow in making changes in his or her deposition transcript?

Question 12

DEFINE
subpoena duces tecum

Question 13

DEFINE
sequester

Question 14

Can the deponent's original answers have any role in the trial even though the answers were duly changed as authorized by the court's rules?

Question 15

Absent a court order or stipulation to the contrary, how many discovery depo- sitions may a party take during the course of a civil action?

Question 16

List four reasons for taking a person's oral deposition that cannot be accom- plished by using interrogatories.

Question 17

In a deposition, objections to the form of the questions must be made during the course of the deposition; otherwise, the objections are .

Question 18

Why might a party elect to take a witness's oral deposition by video rather than have a court reporter make a stenographic record of the questions and answers?

Question 19

Why would a deponent elect to waive the right to read and correct the depo- sition transcript before it is filed with the court?

Question 20

How many oral depositions does the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure allow?

Question 21

The oral deposition is the discovery procedure that permits one to obtain the most detailed information from an adverse party or witness.

Question 22

The rules governing oral deposition make the scope of permissible inquiry in discovery depositions:

A) less than that permitted in court.
B) the same as that permitted in court.
C) greater than that permitted in court.
D) none of the above.

Question 23

What may a party do if the designated time and place in a notice of taking deposition are inconvenient for a party?

Question 24

Proof of service of a subpoena need not specifically state:

A) the date of service.
B) the manner of service.
C) the name of the person who made the service.
D) the name(s) of persons who witnessed the service.

Question 25

Federal Rules require the notice of taking deposition to specify how the testimony will be recorded.

Question 26

If the parties to an arbitration engage in discovery, paralegals may conduct the discovery, but they may not take depositions.

Question 27

No subpoena is necessary when a party serves a notice for taking deposition of another party.

Question 28

What is the principal difference between an affidavit and a deposition?

Question 29

How does a party schedule a deposition with a deponent?

Question 30

A party who notices a witness's deposition must serve the notice of deposition upon all other parties.

Question 31

The court reporter makes a verbatim record of the entire proceeding at an oral deposition.

Question 32

The Rules specifically prescribe the time and place for taking depositions.

Question 33

The deponent need not give a reason or an explanation for each change he or she makes to his or her deposition transcript.

Question 34

The notice for taking the non-party's deposition should be signed by:

A) a lawyer.
B) a party.
C) a paralegal.
D) a lawyer or paralegal.
E) all of the above.

Question 35

A deposition transcript of the deponent's testimony may not be presented to the jury in place of the deponent's live testimony even if the deponent is not available to testify at trial.

Question 36

Depositions may be used at trial:

A) as substantive evidence.
B) for impeachment purposes.
C) both (a) and (b).
D) neither (a) nor (b).

Question 37

The court reporter stops recording the dialogue only if the lawyers agree to have the deponent answer questions "off the record."

Question 38

What consequence might a party face who notices a witness's deposition but does not subpoena the witness for the deposition because the witness promises to attend without a subpoena?