Hi Friends,

In a Civil Trial that i am the defendant in, I have a witness in mind for my case and i'm quite sure she would be able to help my cause.

At the time of incident she was a government worker....now she is retired...but she has relevant information to the case that would very likely tip the case in my favor.

1. Can i write her a letter asking her if she will is willing to be deposed?

2. Can she ignore the request if my attorney writes her?

3. Is there anyway for her to get out of being a witness?

thanks for your input.

~B
* Last updated by: BOB5 on 12/11/2013 @ 1:04 PM *

The BEST way to inquire if a witness is willing (and will give the information sought) is a face-to-face meeting. If a witness is not living in a distant town, he or she can be subpoenaed for deposition and thereby subject to contempt proceedings for failure to appear, but one is not wise to subpoena someone from whom wants favorable responses until the matter has been discussed in a friendly, informal setting.

Thank you Dr. Graves,

So your advice is to approach the witness and ask them if they would be willing to give a deposition.

Perhaps i should pay them a visit. They are local to me...and we have been on friendly terms in the past.

Would it be best to send a letter....or visit them at their home?

Friendliness is the key.

I got your email regarding "Deposition Power." I am trying to locate it now on your new online course.

In the Discovery tutorial, Bob. Study ALL the course, please. You cannot hope to win just poking around in the course. At least start at the beginning and work through it all. You'll thank me later.

Yes friendliness is the key.

I am the plaintiff in my case.
The defendant called my expert witness & started arguing with him on the phone. In order to stop the conversation my expert witness demanded $900 per hr. for reimbursement. The defendant backed-off.

I explained to the judge what happened & the judge ordered that another deposition will not be scheduled.

Sincerely,
* Last updated by: HALINA1 on 12/20/2013 @ 1:05 AM *

That's the way to do it ... the Jurisdictionary WAY ! ! !
Hoooray for you!
Wish everyone knew what you are learning with my course!

This person is not an expert...but i could use their testimony.

Can you pay a witness to testify on your behalf?

...or is that considered undue influence?

Very unwise to pay a witness or even to coach a witness. All discussed at length in the section on Evidence.

Ok...now i'm confused.

I don't see anything in the written or Video section about not coaching or paying a witness.

You said approach in person in a friendly way...but we can't coach them.

I can understand the coaching part...but paying them i don't understand. We can pay expert witnesses to testify on our behalf. This is done all the time. But now...you are saying its unwise to pay them ? ?

Can you clarify on what is the right way to approach a witness on your behalf?
* Last updated by: BOB5 on 1/9/2014 @ 1:36 PM *