Deposition

Deposition, the testimony of a witness set down in writing. Depositions are taken either by a judge or by a commissioner specially appointed by him for that purpose. The questions to which the depositions are answers are usually put by the legal representatives of the parties to the suit, under the control of the court or commissioner, and the answers are taken down by the clerk of court, or by a clerk specially appointed for the purpose. It is a rule in the laws of evidence of all countries that the deposition cannot be read where the witness might be himself produced, because his oral testimony is the best evidence, and secondary evidence is never admissible.