§92.63. Arrangement of papers. — Inbound Citations

After the examination of a witness is completed, the stenographic record of the examination must be fully transcribed and the transcription attached securely to any document or documents to which the testimony in the record pertains. (See § 92.63 regarding the arrangement of papers.) The transcribed deposition must then be submitted to the witness for examination and read to or by him, unless such examination and reading are waived by the witness and by the parties to the action. Any changes in form or substance desired by the witness should be entered upon the deposition by the notarizing officer with a statement of the reasons given by the witness for making the changes. The witness should then sign the transcript of his deposition and should initial in the margin each correction made at his request. However, the signature and initials of the witness may be omitted if the parties to the action by stipulation waive the signing or if the witness is ill, refuses to sign, or cannot be found. If the deposition is not signed by the witness, the notarizing officer should sign it and should state on the record the reason for his action, i.e., the waiver of the parties, the illness or absence of the witness, or the refusal of the witness to sign, giving the reasons for such refusal. The deposition may then be used as though signed by the witness except when, on the motion to suppress, the court holds that the reasons given for the refusal to sign require the rejection of the deposition in whole or in part. (Rules 30 (e) and 31 (b), Rules of Civil Procedure for the District Courts of the United States.)

(a) The notice or commission, the interrogatories, the record of the witnesses' answers, the exhibits, and all other documents and papers pertaining to the depositions should be fastened together (see § 92.63 regarding the arrangement of papers) and should be enclosed in an envelope sealed with the wax engraving seal of the post. The envelope should be endorsed with the title of the action and should be marked and addressed. The sealed envelope should then be transmitted to the court in which the action is pending.

(1) Commissions issued in criminal cases under the authority of the act of June 25, 1948, as amended, to take testimony in connection with foreign documents should be executed and returned by officers of the Foreign Service in accordance with section 1 of that act, as amended (sec. l, 62 Stat. 835; 18 U.S.C. 3493, 3494), and in accordance with any special instructions which may accompany the commission. For details not covered by such section or by special instructions, officers of the Foreign Service should be guided by such instructions as may be issued by the Department of State in connection with the taking of depositions generally. (See §§ 92.55 to 92.64.)