 can I get the court to pay for the deposition? No. No, courts don't pay for depositions unless you have a criminal case, and even then you don't do depositions in a criminal case. But you have to be destitute to get any help from the court. Once you do get help, you're assigned a lawyer, then the lawyer can do all kinds of things that the state pays for or the county pays for. Not in a civil case. No way. You're on your own.