Morganton, NC asked in Child Custody, Divorce and Family Law for Florida

Q: Do I need to use witnesses at my divorce hearing because the opposing party is using witnesses?

Standing Family Law

16. DISCOVERY

... If one Party requests the deposition of a witness listed in the Pretrial Statement and the other party does not cooperate in scheduling the same, the Court shall consider any sanctions, including excluding the witness. ...

Does that mean that, if the opposing party wants to use witnesses, but I do not schedule any witnesses, the court may exclude her witness? I would prefer to keep witness testimonies out of it to keep things civil.

1 Lawyer Answer
Terrence H Thorgaard
Terrence H Thorgaard
Answered
  • Freeeport, FL
  • Licensed in Florida

A: No, that's not what it means. A deposition is the taking of testimony of a potential witness OUT OF COURT. If they were to want to do that, the quoted language means that you should cooperate. In your case, apparently the other party intends to call witness to the IN COURT hearing. If your hearing is one in which witnesses can be called, the other party can call witnesses whether or not you do. Whether or not the testimony of those witnesses is relevant is another matter.

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