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Forum
Started Dec 10 2012, 15:27
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Dec 10 2012, 15:27
In the last two weeks, I have received four urgent requests for assistance to help gather evidence and prepare affidavits for people who by no fault of their own have been forced to represent themselves in family and criminal courts.
Last night I was contacted by another, who is appearing in court today, I unfortunately had to tell this person there was not enough time to do anything.
If for some reason you are self representing in court, you need to be prepared. If you leave things until the last minute, you are doing yourself an injustice.
If you can not afford legal representation, and are not eligible for legal aid, you need to know your stuff.
* Look at the website of the courts jurisdiction that you will appearing in - look for the information that is available - what are the particular rules of the court you need to follow.
* Visit your local community legal center.
* Use sites such as this to gain an understanding.
* Read and understand the relevant legislation.
* Research the rules of evidence.
* Research and identify the relevant case law.
* Start a file which has all your relevant materials in it (court documents, legislation, case law, affidavits, copies of documentary evidence, chronology etc)
* Visit the court that you are to appear in and see what happens, sit in for a day or longer (it is a foreign environment for most).
* Prepare the theory of how you are going to present your case (what facts are you going to lead, what witnesses and evidence will you need to, how are you going to counter the other sides case, identify your lines of inquiry to obtain the necessary evidence)
* Draft and prepare all necessary court forms, take the time in doing so, attention to detail is the key.
* Obtain witness statements/affidavits early - if you wait till the last minute you may not get them.
* Remember that to prove something you need relevant and admissible evidence. It's no use saying 'This is what happened' if you don't have the evidence to support it. It may very well be what happened, but if you don't have the evidence, its not going to be considered.
The moral is, as soon as you know that a court matter is on the horizon start preparing. Don't wait until the last minute. It is better to be over prepared than not ready on the day.
id : 12637658
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