Represent Yourself in Court : How to Prepare

Many disputes are too big for small claims court, but too small to justify a lawyer's contingency fee. Fortunately, with the help of this book, you can handle your own case-from start to finish.

Paul Bergman is a Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law Sara J. Berman-Barrett is an attorney and bar review professor

Going it Alone in Court

The Scope of This Book

2

(2)

Can You Really Represent Yourself?

4

(1)

Coping With Being a Stranger in a Strange Land

4

(2)

Finding a Legal Coach

6

(1)

How to Use This Book

7

(3)

Try to Settle Your Case

10

The Courthouse and the Courtroom

An Overview of Different Courts

3

(1)

A Typical Courthouse

4

(3)

The Courtroom Players

7

(6)

The Courtroom and Its Physical Layout

13

(3)

Courtroom Rules, Customs and Etiquette

16

Starting Your Case

Do You Have a Good Case?

3

(2)

Is Your Lawsuit Timely?

5

(3)

Which Court Has Power to Hear a Case (Jurisdiction)?

8

(9)

How a Lawsuit Begins

17

Overview of Pre-Trial Procedures

Know and Follow Pretrial Deadlines

2

(1)

Pretrial Conferences

3

(1)

Court-Ordered Mediation and Arbitration

3

(1)

Initial Pretrial Procedures: Setting Ground Rules

4

(5)

Intermediate Pretrial Procedures: Discovery and Motions

9

(2)

Final Pretrial Procedures: Trial Preparation

11

Investigating Your Case

Informal Investigation

2

(6)

Formal Discovery

8

(4)

Depositions

12

(13)

Written Interogatories

25

(4)

Requests for Production of Documents; Subpoenas

29

(3)

Requests for Admissions

32

Settlement

Court-Ordered Mediation

4

(3)

Court-Ordered Arbitration

7

(1)

Offers of Judgment

8

(1)

Pre-Trial Settlement Conferences

9

(2)

Post-Settlement Documents

11

Pre-Trial Motions

Pre-Trial Conferences

2

(2)

Pre-Trial Motions

4

(2)

What Goes into a Motion

6

(1)

Scheduling a Court Hearing on a Pretrial Motion

6

(1)

Serving and Filing Your Documents

7

(1)

Court Hearings on Motions

8

(1)

Common Pretrial Motions

9

What You Need to Prove at Trial: The Plaintiff's Perspective

The Elements of a Legal Claim

2

(2)

How to Find the Elements of Your Claim

4

(1)

Proving Each Element

4

(2)

Your Burden of Proof

6

(1)

How to Identify Facts Proving the Elements of Your Claim

7

(5)

Looking Ahead to Trial: Organizing Your Evidence

12

(2)

Learning About Your Adversary's Case

14

What You Need to Prove at Trial: The Defendant's Perspective

Identifying the Elements of the Plaintiff's Legal Claim

3

(1)

Identifying the Plaintiff's Facts

3

(2)

Defeating Any One Element of a Claim

5

(1)

Disproving the Plaintiff's Facts by Impeaching Witnesses

6

(1)

Proving Your Version of Events

7

(1)

Putting the Defense Strategies Together

8

Selecting the Decisionmaker

Are You Eligible for a Jury Trial?

2

(1)

Are You Better Off with a Judge Trial or a Jury Trial?

2

(1)

Your Opponent's Right to Choose a Jury

3

(1)

Disqualifying a Judge

3

(2)

Making a Timely Jury Trial Request

5

(1)

How the Jury Selection Process Works

6

(2)

Your Right to Challenge Jurors

8

(3)

What Jurors Should You Challenge?

11

(1)

What to Ask Prospective Jurors

12

(4)

Alternate Jurors

16

Opening Statement

Should You Make an Opening Statement?

2

(1)

When to Make Your Opening Statement

3

(2)

How to Put Together Your Opening Statement

5

(2)

What Not to Say During Opening Statement

7

(3)

Tips for Rehearsing and Presenting Your Opening Statement

10

(2)

Sample Opening Statement

12

(1)

Sample Outline for Your Trial Notebook

13

Direct Examination

Direct Examination as Storytelling

2

(1)

Overview of Direct Examination Procedures

2

(1)

Preparing for Direct Examination

3

(5)

Presenting Your Own Testimony on Direct Examination

8

(2)

How to Question Witnesses

10

(11)

Hostile Witnesses

21

(1)

The Judge's Role

22

(1)

A Sample Direct Examination

23

Cross-Examination

An Overview of Cross-Examination

2

(1)

Should You Cross-Examine?

3

(2)

How To Ask Questions on Cross-Examination

5

(2)

Eliciting Helpful Evidence

7

(3)

Impeaching Adverse Witnesses

10

(8)

Base Questions on Evidence You Can Offer

18

(1)

If One of Your Witnesses Is Impeached

19

(1)

Preparing for Cross-Examination

20

Closing Argument

When You Deliver Closing Argument

2

(1)

Prepare and Rehearse Your Closing Argument Before Trial

2

(1)

How To Put Together a Closing Argument

3

(9)

What Not to Do in Closing Argument

12

(1)

Rebuttal Argument

13

(1)

Objections During Closing

14

(1)

Sample Closing Argument and Outline

14

Exhibits

Admitting Exhibits Into Evidence: An Overview

2

(2)

Step 1: Mark Your Exhibits and Show Them to Your Adversary

4

(1)

Step 2: Identify (Authenticate) Your Exhibits

5

(1)

Step 3: Lay a Foundation

6

(12)

Letting Jurors See Your Exhibits

18

(1)

When Exhibits Are Required: The ``Best Evidence'' Rule

19

(1)

Objecting to Your Adversary's Exhibits

20

(2)

Organizing Exhibits for Trial

22

Basic Rules of Evidence

Relevance

2

(3)

Excluding Relevant but Unfairly Prejudicial Evidence

5

(1)

The Rule Against Opinions

6

(2)

The Rule Against Character Evidence

8

(2)

Hearsay

10

Making and Responding to Objections

Objections: An Overview

2

(1)

Objections Made Before Trial: Motions In Limine

3

(1)

How to Make Objections During Trial

4

(5)

How To Respond to Your Adversary's Objections

9

(3)

Checklist of Common Objections

12

Organizing A Trial Notebook

Setting Up Your Notebook

2

(1)

Index Tab 1: Legal Pleadings

2

(1)

Index Tab 2: Discovery Materials

3

(1)

Index Tab 3: Legal Claim Outline

4

(1)

Index Tab 4: Opening Statement Outline

4

(1)

Index Tab 5: Direct Examination Outlines

4

(1)

Index Tab 6: Cross-Examination Outlines

5

(1)

Index Tab 7: Closing Argument Outline

6

(1)

Index Tab 8: Jury Trial Documents

6

(1)

Index Tab 9: Miscellaneous Documents

6

Expert Witnesses

Who Are Expert Witnesses?

2

(1)

Do You Need an Expert Witness?

2

(2)

Special Rules for Expert Witnesses

4

(2)

Finding and Hiring an Expert Witness

6

(4)

Questioning Your Expert Witness at Trial

10

(7)

Cross-Examining Your Opponent's Expert Witness

17

When Your Trial Ends: Judgments & Appeals

How Final Decisions Are Made at the End of Trial

3

(2)

Requesting a New Trial or Change in the Verdict

5

(2)

Appeals

7

(4)

Collecting and Paying Judgments

11

Representing Yourself in Divorce Court

Formulate a Divorce Game Plan

4

(9)

The Basics of family Law Explained

13

(8)

Filing for Divorce

21

(6)

How Uncontested Divorces Work

27

(4)

What Happens in a Contested Divorce

31

(6)

Modification of Support, Custody and Visitation

37

Represent Yourself in Bankruptcy Court

An Overview of Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

3

(5)

The Meeting of Creditors (341 (A) Hearing)

8

(4)

The Automatic Stay

12

(5)

Objections to Exemptions

17

(3)

Objections to the Discharge of Debts

20

(5)

Reaffirming a Debt

25

(4)

Help Beyond This Book

29

Getting Help From Attorneys: Hiring A Legal Coach

Why Consult a Lawyer?

1

(5)

How to Find and Select a Qualified Legal Coach

6

(5)

Keeping Lawyer Bills Down

11

Legal Research

What You May Want to Research

2

(3)

Sources of Information

5

(12)

Resolving Legal Research Problems

17

Glossary

Index

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Represent Yourself in Court : How to Prepare and Try a Winning Case

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials