Perhaps the best-known example of a president or vice president giving a deposition in recent times is former President Clinton's 1998 testimony in the sexual harassment lawsuit filed against him by Paula Jones, an event whose anniversary is still noted in "Today in History" newspaper columns.
Another example is the 1990 testimony of former President Reagan as a defense witness in the trial of former national security advisor John M. Poindexter.
And last year, speculation swirled that Cheney would testify at the criminal trial of his former aide, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, but that didn't happen.
Experts noted that situations such as the Howards-Cheney exchange are rare.
"These sorts of things don't happen that often because they have a pretty sheltered existence," Goldstein said.
On June 16, 2006, Howards, an environmental consultant, was with his family in Beaver Creek, a resort town about 100 miles west of Denver, when he spotted Cheney walking down the street.
That morning, Howards said he had read a newspaper article that listed the number of troops killed in Iraq.
"I was outraged," he said. "The fact he happened to cross my way, I felt, was an opportunity I couldn't ignore."
So Howards said he spoke his piece, then patted the right shoulder of Cheney's silk suit and walked away. A Secret Service agent caught up with him a few minutes later and began to question him.
The agent, Virgil "Gus" Reichle Jr., did not see what happened. But he said other agents told him an assault had occurred -- that Howards slapped Cheney "with such force that his shoulder dipped," according to Reichle's deposition.
Reichle arrested Howards, but assault charges were never filed. Instead, Howards was issued a summons for misdemeanor harassment, but the district attorney later dismissed the charge, saying it was clear Howards hadn't attacked Cheney.
What transpired next is anything but clear.
In his Nov. 27 deposition, Reichle claimed the other agents later changed their stories to say there was no assault -- perhaps because they didn't want to inconvenience Cheney with any legal hassles.
"Certainly they don't want him to be bothered with a deposition," he said. "Perhaps Vice President Cheney just was willing to let it go, you know. He's a tough guy, played high school football."
