Should you take depositions in your misdemeanor case?
Well, the short answer is - that's not necessarily up to you. The Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure provide that depositions in a misdemeanor case may only be taken upon good cause shown to the Court.
This usually means that your attorney will file a motion and make argument to the Court as to why a deposition is necessary in your case. In many instances - at least in Miami-Dade County - the prosecutor will more than likely object. In Broward County, it is far more common for a Judge to permit the taking of depositions in misdemeanor cases.
Depositions are a critical tool for defense attorneys. We subpoena state witnesses and get to ask them questions under oath. The deposition then gets transcribed and we can use that transcript in pretrial hearings and at trial to impeach the witness if they should testify differently in Court than they had during their deposition.
In felony cases, depositions are permitted. In misdemeanor cases, such as domestic violence batteries, DUIs, and other misdemeanor crimes, you must get the Court's permission.
Judges will be reluctant to permit depositions in misdemeanor cases because they want to move misdemeanor cases along. Depositions take time, and if there are issues serving witnesses, problems with scheduling, or any number of delays that can occur while depositions are being arranged, that only causes the resolution of the case to be postponed.
If there are some novel issues with your misdemeanor case, a deposition should definitely be pursued. It can only benefit your case and could lead to a better plea, possible dismissal, or at the very least, significantly better trial preparation.
If you are charged with a misdemeanor in Florida, talk to your criminal defense attorney about whether depositions are a good idea, and above all else - whether they believe that good cause exists upon which to ask the Court to permit them.
Eric Matheny is a criminal defense attorney serving Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and Palm Beach County.