English
EspañolDuring a deposition, do I have to be in the same room with the abuser?
THIS PERSON HAD AN ATTORNEY – IF WE AREN’T SURE IF SHE HAS AN ATTY, DON’T USE THE FIRST SENTENCE:
Since you mentioned that you have an attorney, have you already raised this issue with your attorney to see if any accommodations can be made?
Often times, attorneys will make specific demands of each other on behalf of their clients and the attorneys will come to a settlement about the terms of the deposition to avoid having to fight it out in court in front of the judge. For example, when there is a protection order in place, it may be reasonable for an attorney to request that the parties be in different rooms during the victim’s deposition with the abuser viewing the deposition via Skype or some other computerized camera option. [LEAVE THIS SENTENCE OUT IF WE KNOW S/HE HAS AN ATTY: If someone is representing himself/herself, s/he can still make these types of demands of the opposing party or his/her lawyer - although, realistically, the lawyer may not be as willing to give into demands made by a self-represented litigant.]
Also, aside from trying to get the opposing lawyer to agree to have the parties be separated, there may not be any specific right under the law for a party to be present in the same room as the person being deposed. I am not knowledgeable about STATE’s laws but a lawyer in STATE should know whether or not there is a legal right for the opposing party to be in the same room during a deposition. Although the right for a defendant to be present at a trial is pretty well-established in the law, depositions may likely have less legal protections than a trial.
YOU CAN ADD THIS IF SHE ASKS ABOUT WHO HAS TO PAY THE COSTS FOR THE DEPOSITION: In terms of the costs for the deposition, generally the person who requests the deposition has to pay the costs of the court reporter and any other costs for the deposition itself (such as renting a room) However, each party usually has to pay their own attorneys’ fees and each party may later pay for a copy of the transcript, which is a written record of what was said during the deposition.
