Editing Deposition (law) (section)

=====Conduct of depositions=====
Depositions usually take place at the office of the court reporter or in the office of one of the [[law firm]]s involved in a case. However, depositions are also sometimes taken at a witness's workplace or home, or in a nearby hotel's conference room. Generally, the deposition is attended by the person who is to be deposed, their attorney, court reporter, and other parties in the case who can appear personally or be represented by their counsels. Any party to the action and their attorneys have the right to be present and to ask questions.

Prior to taking a deposition, the court reporter administers the same [[oath]] or [[affirmation in law|affirmation]] that the deponent would take if the testimony were being given in court in front of a judge and jury. Thereafter, the court reporter makes a verbatim digital or stenographic record of all that is said during the deposition, in the same manner that witness testimony is recorded in court. Some jurisdictions allow [[stenomask]] technology in lieu of traditional stenographic equipment, although many jurisdictions still prohibit stenomask because of its disconcerting effect on some lawyers and witnesses.

Attorneys for the deposing litigant are often present, although this is not required in all jurisdictions. The attorney who has ordered the deposition begins questioning of the deponent (this is referred to as "[[direct examination]]" or "direct" for short). Since nods and gestures cannot be recorded, the witness is instructed to answer all questions aloud. After the direct examination, other attorneys in attendance have an opportunity to [[Cross examination|cross-examine]] the witness. The first attorney may ask more questions at the end, in ''re-direct'', which may be followed by ''re-cross''.

During the course of the deposition, one attorney or another may [[Objection (United States law)|object]] to questions asked. In most jurisdictions, only two [[List of objections (law)|types of objections]] are allowed: The first is to assert a privilege and the second is to object to the form of the question asked. [[List of objections (law)|Objections to form]] are frequently used to signal the witness to be careful in answering the question. Since the judge is not present, all other objections, in particular those involving the [[rules of evidence]], are generally preserved until trial. They still can be made sometime at the deposition to indicate the serious problem to judge and witness, but the witness must answer the question despite these objections. If the form objection is made, the opposite party still has the right to re-phrase the same question and ask it again. Indeed, in [[Texas]], lawyers were so aggressively using objections to indirectly coach their witnesses on the record that all objections outside four narrow categories are now prohibited and making such prohibited objections waives ''all'' objections to the question or answer at issue. [[California]] is the major "outlier" on deposition objections; under the California Civil Discovery Act as enacted in 1957 and heavily revised in 1986, most objections must be given on the record at the deposition (and must be specific as to the objectionable nature of the question or response) or they are permanently waived.<ref>{{cite web|title=California Code of Civil Procedure|url=http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CCP&sectionNum=2025.460.|website=California Legislative Information|publisher=California State Legislature|access-date=27 December 2017}}</ref>

As with oral examination at trial, depositions can become heated at times, with some attorneys asking harassing questions to provoke witnesses into losing their tempers, some witnesses giving evasive answers, and occasional use of [[Profanity|profane language]]. In extreme situations, one side or the other may ask the reporter to mark the record, then may suspend the deposition, demand a [[Transcript (law)|rush transcript]], and file an emergency motion to compel a response, for a protective order, or for sanctions. Some courts have magistrates or discovery commissioners who are on call for such contingencies, and the parties are supposed to use them to referee such disputes over the telephone or via email before resorting to filing motions. In extreme circumstances where the relationship between the lawyers, parties, or witnesses has totally broken down, the court may require the use of a discovery referee who will have authority to sit in on depositions and rule immediately on objections as they are presented, may order that all further depositions take place in court in the presence of a judge, or may grant terminating sanctions if the record is already clear as to which party or attorney is responsible for the breakdown in civility.

Parties can bring documents to the deposition and ask document identification questions to build a foundation for making the documents admissible as evidence at trial, as long as the deponent admits their authenticity. The court reporter and all parties in the case are usually provided a copy of the documents during the deposition for review.

In recent years, developments in litigation technology has allowed the use of paper documents to be replaced by [[electronic document]]s and exhibits in the deposition.<ref name="atl">{{cite web|last1=Kennedy|first1=Shawn|title=Nothing To Fear In Using Digital Exhibits|url=https://abovethelaw.com/2016/01/nothing-to-fear-in-using-digital-exhibits/|website=Above the Law|access-date=27 December 2017|date=12 January 2016}}</ref> In such cases, the examining attorney marks and distributes the official exhibits electronically using a laptop or tablet device. The deponent, [[court reporter]], and all parties receive digital official exhibits or courtesy copies. Combined with live transcript feed technology and legal [[videography]], digital exhibit technology has made participation in remote depositions more functional and popular.<ref>{{cite web|title=4 Reasons To Use Electronic Deposition Exhibits|url=https://www.law360.com/articles/714625/4-reasons-to-use-electronic-deposition-exhibits|website=Law360|access-date=27 December 2017|date=21 October 2015}}</ref>

Under FRCP 30(d)(1) and its state counterparts, a deposition normally must take place for no longer than seven hours on one day per each deponent, unless otherwise stipulated by the parties or ordered by the court. The deposing party who knows that a deposition will require more than seven hours on one day must either ask the deponent to stipulate to more time, or, if the deponent is uncooperative, promptly file a motion for a longer deposition. For many years, California was the major exception to this rule, in that its Civil Discovery Act had ''no'' default time limit; depositions could theoretically proceed indefinitely, or at least until the deposition became so obviously excessive and burdensome that the deponent was able to move for a protective order. However, in January 2013, the California legislature amended the Civil Discovery Act to fall in line with the federal rule, by requiring that depositions will typically be limited to seven hours of total testimony.<ref name="Cal2025.290"/> This new rule does not apply to "any case brought by an employee or applicant for employment against an employer for acts or omissions arising out of or relating to the employment relationship."<ref name="Cal2025.290">{{cite web|title=California Code of Civil Procedure, Sec. 2025.290|url=http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CCP&sectionNum=2025.290.|website=California Legislative Information|publisher=California State Legislature|access-date=27 December 2017}}</ref>
[[File:Example page of stenographers copy of an expert's deposition.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Example page from stenographers copy of an expert's deposition from [[Anderson v. Cryovac]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://serc.carleton.edu/woburn/resources/Trial_testimony.html|title=Stenographers copy of an expert's deposition in Anderson v. Cryovac landmark case.}}</ref>]]

After the deposition, the transcript is then published in the form of a hardcopy booklet, which is provided to the deponent as well as to any party to the suit who wishes to purchase a copy. The booklet will have the case caption (the name of the court, case number, and names of the parties) on the front. Inside, the pages have line numbers along the left margin, so that the parties can precisely cite testimony by page and line in later court documents. Timestamps are inserted into the margin if a video recording is being made; in the event the witness is unavailable for trial, the parties or the court will use the timestamps to identify admissible segments which a [[video editing|video editor]] will stitch together to present to the jury. A [[Concordance (publishing)|concordance]] is automatically generated by the stenographic system's software and included in the back of the booklet. Finally, the booklet includes the court reporter's certificate in which they formally certify the truth and accuracy of the transcript.  (In some states, the court reporter is also a [[notary public]].)  Most court reporters can also provide a digital copy of the transcript in ASCII, RealLegal, and PDF formats.

The court reporter also keeps a copy of the documents provided to the deponent during the deposition for document identification questions, unless digital document and exhibit technology is employed, in which case the deponent and all parties receive the official exhibits in real time. The deponent normally has the right to read and sign the deposition transcript before it is filed with the court.  The deponent cannot change his testimony as recorded by the court reporter in the deposition transcript, but under rule 30(e) the deponent can correct on an additional "[[Erratum|errata]] sheet" any mistakes in the deposition transcript shortly after the transcript has been typed and bound.<ref name="james"/>

The errata sheet allows the deponent to make any modifications that make "changes in form or substance," giving the deponent the option to alter their record from the original transcript. Issues may arise where a party attempts to make substantive changes to testimony through errata sheets.<ref name="james">{{cite web|last1=Audet|first1=William M.|last2=Fanady|first2=Kimberly A.|title=Why, When & How to Correct a Deposition Transcript Under the Federal Rules|url=https://jamespublishing.com/2014/correct-deposition-transcript-federal-rules/|website=James Publishing|access-date=27 December 2017|date=8 September 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Aprahamian|first1=Michael J.|last2=Beringer|first2=Jesse L.|title=Out of Sight, Not out of Mind: Deposition Ethics and Best Practices|url=https://www.wisbar.org/newspublications/wisconsinlawyer/pages/article.aspx?volume=88&issue=5&articleid=24070|website=Wisconsin Lawyer|publisher=Wisconsin State Bar|access-date=27 December 2017}}</ref>