| “ | Those kids hurt our daughter. I want to find out what they know. | ” |
| — Olivia Baker to Andrew Baker. |
The Deposition Hearings were a series of legal proceedings of video-recorded sessions about testimonies from other students about their relationship with Hannah Baker and the experience at Liberty High School. It was organized by Hannah Baker's parents Olivia and Andrew Baker, and their attorney Dennis Vasquez, taking place during the events of Tape 7, Side A. Some of the students' testimonies recorded here were later used at trial during the second season.
Overview[]
As soon as Olivia Baker found out the list of names that Hannah named on her tapes, this gives Dennis Vasquez the go to issue the subpoenas which were handed out to Courtney, Zach, Marcus, Alex, Ryan, Jessica, Justin, Bryce, and Tyler. As a result, the depositions were legal proceedings were the students testified about Liberty, their relationship with Hannah Baker and what she had experienced. Dennis Vasquez and Lainie Jensen ask questions to the students being interviewed. Olivia and Andrew watch from the sidelines with the kids' parents watching as their children give testimonies. Some of the testimonies had revealed information that had effected the parents and the presiders in certain ways, like the revealance of Hannah's Tapes that she recorded before her suicide. Some of the kids had told the truth, while some had withheld details that covered up important information. All the depositions in Tape 7, Side A were only shown for one day, as some kids like Clay Jensen had not been interviewed yet for their hearing. While others had chose not to attend. Alex Standall had shot himself in the head the night before, and Sheri Holland had confessed to the police about her role in Jeff Atkins's death, resulting in her ending up in juvie.
Attendants at the Depositions[]
Presiding[]
- Lainie Jensen (for the school)
- Dennis Vasquez (for the Bakers)
Interviewees[]
These are all the students who had been interviewed for their deposition hearings during the episode.
| Interviewee | Time | Testimony |
|---|---|---|
| Zach Dempsey | Started at 8:00 AM | Zach describes that he met Hannah first at her house party. He says he doesn't know her well and that she dated Justin. When Dennis asks him if anybody spoke unkindly to Hannah, Zach says yes and that he said things himself. |
| Marcus Cole | Around 9:55 AM | Marcus describes his relationship with Hannah. He denies dating Hannah, instead says that they had a milkshake once for Oh my Dollar Valentine's. He denies that Hannah took it seriously but admits that he hurt her feelings, but didn't mean to. He thought Hannah wanted to date him. |
| Courtney Crimsen | Around 10:50 AM | Courtney describes her relationship with Hannah, calling her an "acquaintance" and is questioned about the photo that Tyler took of her and Hannah kissing. Dennis shows her the photo and asks her if she is in it, but Courtney says it's hard to know. When pushed a little more, it is not shown how Courtney had replied. |
| Kat | Around 11:35 AM | Kat describes her relationship with Hannah before she moved away, how she introduced her to Justin and how she regrets not being there for her when she needed her. She also explains how the atmosphere at Liberty High holds jocks in high reguard, and how the staff feed into it. When questioned about her relationship with Justin Foley, she replies, "Justin Foley is dead to me." |
| Tyler Down | Tyler describes his experience of being mistreated by other students at Liberty. Tyler describes Hannah's bullying experience at Liberty with verbal and physical abuse as he witnessed and photographed. Tyler mentions the existence of Hannah's Tapes to everyone at the hearing. Tyler says that the tapes were in Clay Jensen's possession, which surprises Lainie. | |
| Jessica Davis | Jessica describes her relationship with Hannah. She mentioned it going downhill after she thought that she stole her boyfriend. Jessica was hesitant to tell any details, but she mentions the abuse inflicted by other boys at Liberty. She denies the existence of Hannah's tapes with the fear that people would find out about her rape. |
Other Attendants[]
- Stenograph typist
- Courtroom clerk
- Greg Davis
- Mr. Down
- Mrs. Down
- Todd Crimsen (heard off screen)
Non-Attendants[]
Trivia[]
- These are all the students' depositions taking place in the episode "Tape 7, Side A". Other students depositions take place tomorrow as mentioned in the episode.
- Ryan Shaver, Clay Jensen and Tony Padilla were not shown their deposition hearings, Justin Foley chose not to attend, Sheri Holland turned herself in to the police. Alex Standall was in critical condition at the hospital after a gunshot-attempted suicide. He survived in the next season, but was not called to testify in Hannah's trial because of his memory loss.
- As the sessions are video-recorded, the date and time stamp is shown on the camera. Some sessions had the students' pictures shown in the camera throughout their deposition hearing.
Quotes[]
- Dennis: "Good morning, Mr. Dempsey."
- Zach: " Morning."
- Dennis: "My name is Dennis Vasquez, representing Andrew and Olivia Baker, and this is a deposition. I'll be asking you questions, and you must answer them truthfully unless your attorney clearly instructs you otherwise. Do you understand?"
- Zach: "Yes."
- Dennis: "There's no judge present, but this is a formal legal proceeding. You are under the same legal obligation to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Do you understand? "
- Zach: " Yeah, I understand."
- ― Zach on his deposition tape[src]
- Dennis: "Okay, good. Uh, for the record, please state your full name, your age, where you go to school, and what year you're in."
- Zach: "(clears throat) I'm, uh...My name is Zachary Shan-Yung Dempsey. I'm 17, and I'm a junior at Liberty High."
- Dennis: " And when and where did you first meet Hannah Baker?"
- Zach: " I met her at a party, I guess, right before sophomore year started."
- Dennis: " And how well did you know Hannah?"
- Zach: " Um...I didn't know her that well at all. I mean, I knew her from around school, I guess, and she, um... she dated my friend Justin for a while."
- ― Zach on his deposition tape[src]
- Dennis: "Are you aware of anyone bullying Hannah?"
- Lainie: "Dennis, we're going to object. That asks him to qualify behavior."
- Dennis: "Did you ever hear anyone say unkind things to Hannah?"
- Zach: " Um...Yes. Yeah, I heard, and, um...and I said some things myself."
- ― Zach on his deposition tape[src]
- Marcus: "Hannah and me, we'd have a conversation now and then."
- Dennis: " Did you ever date Hannah? "
- Marcus: "No. I mean, we had a milkshake once. It was just a Dollar Valentine's thing."
- Dennis: "Hannah didn't take it seriously?"
- Lainie: "Objection."
- Dennis: " I'll rephrase. Um, did Hannah ever say anything to you that might lead you to believe that she did take it seriously?"
- Marcus: " Not really. I-I think...I think... I might have been...I might have hurt Hannah's feelings...a little bit. But I didn't mean to."
- ― Marcus on his deposition tape[src]
- Dennis: "Hurt her feelings how?"
- Marcus: "I thought she wanted to date me. She didn't."
- ― Marcus on his deposition tape[src]
- Dennis: "Did you consider Hannah a friend?"
- Courtney: "Not really. An acquaintance would be more accurate."
- Dennis: "Reporter, can you mark this document as Exhibit three. (Dennis places a picture of Hannah and Courtney kissing) Can you tell me who this is in this photo?"
- Courtney: "It's hard to tell."
- ― Courtney on her deposition tape[src]
- Dennis: "That's not you in this photo?"
- Mr. Crimsen: "(heard offscreen) Excuse me, I thought we were here to talk about Hannah, alright?. I'm not sure what you're trying to pin on my daughter--but I promise you she had nothing to do-- "
- Dennis: "Mr. Crimsen, you're here as a courtesy. Your daughter is 18. She can talk about this photo now, or do it in court."
- ― Dennis talking to Mr. Crimsen offscreen during the deposition[src]
- Kat: "Look, The jocks, they walk the halls like they own the place. The teachers feed into it. Bolan feeds into it.It's just... it's how it is."
- Dennis: " But you dated athletes."
- Lainie: " Objection. Relevance. She's here to talk about Hannah Baker."
- Kat: "Yeah. Of course I dated jocks. There are decent jocks, you just gotta learn how to find them. Hannah never learned. It's not her fault. I mean... you try going to school with a bunch of Neanderthals who are told they are the only thing of value at school, and that the rest of us are merely there to cheer them on and provide them with whatever support they need."
- ― Kat on her deposition tape.[src]
- Dennis: "So, you texted Hannah more than once that she had terrible taste in guys. What did you mean?"
- Kat: "What I meant...what I mean...is that, if I hadn't moved away... if I hadn't let her start dating Justin... if I'd been around to help her through it... she'd still be alive today."
- ― Kat on her deposition tape.[src]
- Dennis: "And Justin is Justin Foley?"
- Kat: "Yes. Justin... is Justin Foley."
- Dennis: "Are you and Justin still friendly?"
- Kat: "Justin Foley is dead to me."
- ― Kat on her deposition tape[src]
- Tyler: "I would say that the climate at Liberty High School...as I have experienced it myself, is bad. I get shit every... I'm sorry."
- Dennis: " It's fine, Tyler. Just use your own words."
- Tyler: "I get shit every day. People trip me and slam me into walls. Lock me in the bathroom stalls and pull my pants down."
- ― Tyler on his deposition tape[src]
- Dennis: "And do you know if Hannah Baker experienced bullying like this? "
- Lainie: "Again, Dennis asks for an expert opinion."
- Dennis: "Did you ever hear anyone at Liberty speak unkindly to Hannah?"
- Tyler: "Yes."
- Dennis: "Can you tell me about the time or times that happened?"
- Tyler: "It happened all the time. Guys would...call her a slut and say that she's easy,that sort of stuff."
- ― Tyler on his deposition tape[src]
- Dennis: "Did you ever witness anyone being physically abusive to Hannah?"
- Tyler: " I bet it happened."
- Lainie: "Dennis."
- Dennis: " Tyler, we have to ask you not to speculate. Just...talk about what you actually witnessed."
- Tyler: "I saw how guys treated her. I have pictures of it."
- Dennis: "You have pictures of physical abuse? You have proof?"
- Tyler: " No, no, not physical abuse, but--"
- ― Tyler on his deposition tape[src]
- Dennis: "Okay, let's, uh... talk about--(flips through pages)"
- Tyler: "There are tapes."
- Dennis: "(looks at Tyler) I'm sorry?"
- Tyler: "There are tapes. Hannah recorded tapes. She talked about what happened to her."
- Dennis: " And where are these tapes now?"
- Tyler: " Last I heard, Clay Jensen had them."
- Lainie: "(looks surprised) Are you sure about that, Tyler?"
- Tyler: "Last I heard. "
- Lainie: " Well, Dennis, without the tapes in evidence, I'd suggest we move on."
- ― Tyler revealing the existence of Hannah's Tapes on his deposition tape[src]
- Dennis: "So, you and Hannah were friends?"
- Jessica: "Yeah. For a while."
- Dennis: " What do you mean "for a while"?"
- Jessica: "We stopped being friends. "
- Dennis: "Can you tell me why you think that happened?"
- Jessica: "'Cause I slapped her."
- Dennis: "And why did you slap her?"
- Jessica: " Because I thought she was fooling around with my boyfriend."
- Dennis: " And why did you think that?"
- Jessica: " Because... Because guys talk at our school. And they do sh--, they do things to girls that no one ever talks about and no one ever does anything about."
- ― Jessica on her deposition tape[src]
- Dennis: "Things like what, Miss Davis?"
- Jessica: "Like what do you think?"
- Dennis: "Be helpful if you could tell me."
- Jessica: "(no answer)"
- Dennis: "Miss Davis, I know this is difficult, but it's important you tell us."
- Lainie: "-Argumentative."
- Dennis: "-Hardly argumentative."
- Olivia: "Dennis. Don't force her to answer."
- ― Jessica on her deposition tape.[src]
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