6 Tips to Help You Make it Through the Day of the Trial and
To be successful, plan to spend
significant time preparing your case for trial. This is true
whether you are the person who first filed the court case
(the
plaintiff) or the person who was sued (the
defendant).
What you should have already completed before the day of the
trial
Now you are ready to plan how to
present your case to the judge.
1st Tip
–
Don’t lie. Don’t exaggerate. Not even a
little.
The judge who will hear your case listens to people tell
their stories all day, every day. S/he sees all sorts of
people – many tell the truth, some “exaggerate”. Don’t be
fooled into thinking that no one can prove you are
exaggerating a bit. A judge becomes good at hearing any
“false notes” in a story. It is the job of the judge to
decide who s/he believes, even if there is no “proof” that
one side is lying. The judge is an expert in making these
decisions. Don’t jeopardize your case. If you lie on
something small, the judge may not believe you when you tell
the truth on a key point.
2nd Tip –
Tell the facts in a logical way. Tell a
story.
Judges are people, too. It helps to have the facts presented
in a framework that makes it easy to follow. Usually this
means telling the facts in chronological order (in the order
that they happened). It also means presenting the “headline”
first. Just like a newspaper story; start by giving the
judge a quick summary at the
beginning. For example, you might start with “The defendant
has not paid me the $850 that she owes me for a dress that I
made for her daughter. Here is what happened…”
3rd Tip –
Be brief. Know what is important to tell
and what is not.
Not everything that happened between you and the other side
is legally important. Everyone’s time is limited.
Research
the law in your case and
make sure all of the legal points are addressed in your
story. You can ignore all of the parts of the story that are
not legally relevant. For example, you may not want to tell
the judge that you and the other side ”go way back” or that
you babysat her daughter or that she has not paid you for
other bills that you did not include in this court case. You
can tell a more complete story later if the judge asks you
to but start with proving what you need to prove under the
law.
4th Tip –
Present your evidence in a way that
supports your story.
Don’t wait until the end of your story and then shove a
bunch of papers at the judge. Organize and label the
documents that you want to submit to the court. Put the
documents in the order that they support your story. Mention
the documents in order. When you mention a fact supported by a
document, offer the document to the judge and the other
side.
5th Tip -Prepare for the unexpected and remain
focused
What is the worst that the other side could say? What are
the weakest parts of your case? Prepare for the other side
to try to prove these. Don’t wait until after the hearing to
say, “I should have said…” First, decide if the worst that
the other side can say is legally relevant. If it is just a
complaint about you, ignore it. If there is a weakness in
your case, prepare by deciding how you will respond when
they bring it up. Practice what you would say and ignore the
emotions.
6th Tip –
Hold on to your original documents unless
the judge asks for them.
Only you can keep track of your documents. Your documents
are some of the evidence in your case. Evidence may be any
documents, such as receipts, photographs, contracts or
letters that support your claim. It can be easy to lose
documents. You should keep the original documents in your
file. Give copies of any documents to the court. Only pass
along the original document if the judge requests it. Make sure you
have a copy to keep for yourself and for the other side, if
needed.
How to Remain Calm When In Court
Calming Tip # 1
Prepare for the way that you act when
you are nervous.
| When I
am nervous, I... |
I will deal with this potential
problem by... |
| ...can't stop
talking. |
...using
notes on what I need to say. After my key points, I
will put a note to myself that will say STOP. When I
see the note, I will stop talking and take at least
2 deep breaths. If someone asks me a question, I
will answer. Otherwise, I will wait. |
| ...am "tongue
tied." |
writing short
reminder notes to myself…not a script.
- reviewing my
notes in the stall of the bathroom before I go
into the court. I will say my first few
sentences softly to myself.
- reminding myself
that this is my story. I know that I am going to
say.
- practicing my
story aloud (in advance) until it is very
familiar.
|
| ...lose my focus. |
I will
deal with this potential problem by …
- writing up short reminder notes to myself (in
advance) about the key points in my story.
- going into the bathroom stall at the courthouse
and looking at my notes before I go into the
courtroom.
- touching my watch or ring to remind me to keep on
target.
- Looking at my notes periodically. The notes will be
brief and written or typed in a big letters.
|
| ...talk too fast. |
I will
deal with this potential problem by …
- writing a
bold note to myself that says SLOW in my
presentation notes. I will put this note after my
first 2 key points.
- forcing myself to stop and
breathe after the first 4 sentences whether I need
to breathe or not! I will count slowly “one thousand
one – one thousand 2” while I am breathing (and no
one will notice).
- listening to myself. I will stop
talking once I have covered all of the issues in my
notes.
- watching the face of the judge. If s/he
looks confused, I will slow down. Maybe say, “am
nervous and can I repeat anything?”
|
| ...have a dry
mouth. |
I will
deal with this potential problem by …
- arranging to
have a drink of water before I go into the court
room. (I will bring a water bottle or locate the
bathroom or water fountain)
- having a single piece
of hard candy under my tongue to help lubricate my
mouth when I need it. I will be discreet about this.
|
Calming Tip #2 –
Know
what to expect
First prepare by taking the
Quizzes on this website.
Read all of the information about the court on this website.
If at all possible, plan to take time off and go to court.
Figure out how to get to the court and what the security
arrangements are. You probably will not be able to take your
cell phone into the court. See the
Courthouse directory.
Watch other cases in the court for an hour or so to see what
happens. Ideally you should find out when the same judge
assigned to your case will be sitting on the bench or the
same type of case as yours is being heard. Plan to take
notes. Watch carefully to see what works and what the
problems are.
Calming Tip # 3 –
Have your papers ready to present
Nothing makes you more nervous than having to sort through
your papers to find the one receipt that will prove your
case. Eliminate this cause of stress by organizing your
documents.
At least 2 days before the hearing, find all of your
documents. Make at least 2 copies of each document. Attach
the copies to the originals with paper clips. Stack the
papers in the order that you plan to mention them in your
story. You may even want to number each document. Put them
in a file folder and label the file folder. Add your notes.
Maybe use a binder clip to hold the documents together and
attached to the file. Put the folder by the door or in your
car so you do not forget it. You are ready!
Calming Tip #4 –
Once you are prepared, think about
something else. Arrive early.
Once you have done your best to prepare, force yourself to
think about something pleasant. Think about your upcoming
vacation. Think about your sister’s birthday party. Think
about the joke somebody told you yesterday. Thinking about
other topics will help you to remain calm. Most importantly,
arrive early. Rushing in the door makes everybody (even
attorneys) nervous. Make sure that you do not have this
extra pressure.
|
