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Can a deposition be held without filing a lawsuit, going to trial, or absent any other court proceeding?

feetwet
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ganzewoort
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  • Law does not exist to adjudicate the truth of a fact in isolation. That is the domain of philosophy, science, and perhaps other disciplines. – feetwet Jun 16 '17 at 21:35
  • I think the edited question is unclear. Do you mean, "When can a person be required to answer questions under oath without a court order?" – feetwet Jun 16 '17 at 22:22
  • @feetwet, so, do I understand it correctly, a deposition can only be held once a lawsuit is filed? – ganzewoort Jun 16 '17 at 22:29

1 Answers1

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In the US, going to trial would not be necessary, because all but a few depositions occur as part of the pretrial preparations. A lawsuit would be required, though, unless there are other applicable procedures, such as an administrative quasi-judicial proceeding or a Congressional hearing. There might be other ways to answer your question, but it's too hypothetical and nonspecific for me to offer more.

Joseph_N
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