Objections During the Depositions of the McKinney Dog Bite Case

In regards to objections made during the deposition process, the rules were changed about 20 years ago. The rules require that lawyers are only able to object to the form of the question or to instruct their client not to answer the question if the question is abusive or the answer will violate a privilege. If a lawyer objects to the form of the question, the other attorney can demand an answer to the question if they want to do so. Otherwise, “objection to the form of the question” is all the attorney may say.

Sometimes lawyers want the objection explained so they can clean up the question. That happens for both sides. Lawyers can also instruct a client not to answer. That typically happens when the attorney-client communication privilege is being violated.

Those grounds of privilege can be challenged in court. If a client is instructed not to answer what is viewed as a valid question, a lawyer can file an application with the court to force additional depositions to happen and to even ask for costs. When an individual has been instructed not to answer a question that really matters in the case, the odds are very good they are going to get a court intervention at some point on those questions. Read below for more information regarding the depositions of a dog bite case.

How Many Objections are Made Throughout a Deposition?

During a deposition, lawyers typically expect some objections to be made. Objections are often made for things like leading, hearsay, and other evidentiary issues. Younger, inexperienced lawyers and lawyers defending a strong case by their opponent tend to object a lot for very little reason.

When lawyers are asking legitimate questions about how an incident happened, such as where everyone was or who else saw it, most lawyers will not object. When an attorney repeatedly objects to the most mundane and matter-of-fact questions, an experienced lawyer can use the objections at trial to make their opponent look like he is attempting to hide relevant evidence from the jury.

Establishing Privilege

Establishing privileges is often the main thing lawyers are concerned about during depositions. Privileges are essential because the law sets out boundaries for a reason so that clients can feel good about talking to their lawyer. That is why there is the attorney-client privilege, and that privilege can only be waived if the client wants to waive it. However, there are some exceptions to the law. For example, if a client is attempting to commit a crime or something along those lines, the privileges do not apply.

Otherwise, a client needs to be able to tell their attorney everything about the claim and about anything else that could impact the claim.  It is important for a lawyer to be able to get as much information as possible so they can really represent the client and help them achieve their goals or at least let them understand why their goals are unachievable. If a client is sharing with information, a lawyer should tell the client that the information will affect their claim without any of the contents of those conversations that coming up in a deposition.