Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre will be deposed in connection with a sprawling welfare scandal in Mississippi later this month. Favre is accused of participating in a scheme that saw millions of dollars in money earmarked for Mississippi's most at-risk families diverted elsewhere. In particular, Favre is suspected of working with former governor Phil Bryant to use fraudulent funds to help build a new volleyball venue at Southern Miss. The case has been unfolding over the course of the last year, thanks to the work of Anna Wolfe and other journalists at Mississippi Today.
Favre is one of 43 defendants in the case. Of the $77 million prosecutors believed was fraudulently lifted from the state's TANF fund, Southern Miss is believed to have received $5 million while Favre has paid back $1.1 million he reportedly received for speeches he never gave. Also being deposed at the end of October is former Southern Miss president Rodney Bennett. Bennett was recently hired as the chancellor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
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Brett Favre Deposition: What You Need To Know
A deposition serves as a baseline for a person's account of events. The individual being deposed is asked questions under oath and their answers are recorded on audio and video. This allows the prosecution to refer back to the deposition if the individual says something different in court. Depositions aren't free-for-alls however. That is to say, the prosecution can't throw random questions at Favre to catch him out. While there is leeway for exploration, the deposition largely has to stick to what Favre himself knows.
There is no time limit on a deposition. However, most depositions only last one eight-hour session. The next step after deposing Favre will come at the trial. If the prosecution chooses to call on Favre to testify, he will have to be careful to ensure that his testimony on the stand matches what he said in his deposition. If his story changes, he will be "impeached" by the prosecution. This means that he would lose any credibility in the eyes of the judge and jury.
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