per·pet·u·ate /pər-'pe-chə-ˌwāt/ vt -at·ed, -at·ing: to preserve or make available (testimony) for later use at a trial by means of deposition esp. when the evidence so gathered would be otherwise unavailable or lost
◇ Courts will not allow the perpetuation of testimony at a pretrial proceeding if it appears to be an attempt to fish for useful material.
per·pet·u·a·tion /pər-ˌpe-chə-'wā-shən/ n
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.