West Virginia Code 57-4-4 – Circumstances under which deposition may be read in case at law; attendance of deponent out of county may be required
A deposition in a case at law, taken on such notice under the three preceding sections, may be read in such case, if when it is offered, the deponent be dead, or out of this state, or one of its judges, or in any public office or service the duties of which prevent his attending the court, or be unable to attend it from sickness or other infirmity, or be out of the county in which the case is pending, or, because of lapse of time or mental infirmity, be unable to remember any material part of what he had deposed to. But when the only ground of reading a deposition is that the deponent is out of the county, on motion to the court, before the commencement of the trial, the court may, for good cause shown, require such deponent to attend in person.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 57-4-4
- Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.