Represent Yourself in Court: Prepare and Try a Winning Civil Case, Includes Sample Documents and Glossary

Cover
Title Page
Table of Contents
1: Going It Alone in Court
	The Scope of This Book
	A Note to Law Students
	Can You Really Represent Yourself?
	Coping With Being a Stranger in a Strange Land
	Civility
	Arranging for Unbundled (Limited-Scope) Legal Representation
	Pro Se-Friendly Court Rules and Procedures
	Online Legal Assistance
	Using This Book
	Trying to Settle Your Case
	Alternatives to Trial
2: The Courthouse and the Courtroom
	An Overview of Different Courts
	A Typical Courthouse
	The Courtroom Players
	The Courtroom and Its Physical Layout
	Courtroom Rules, Customs, and Etiquette
3: Starting Your Case
	Do You Have a Good Case?
	Is Your Lawsuit Timely?
	Which Court Has the Power to Hear Your Case?
	Beginning a Lawsuit
4: Pretrial Procedures
	Know and Follow Pretrial Deadlines
	Pretrial Conferences
	Court-Ordered Mediation and Arbitration
	Initial Pretrial Procedures: Setting Ground Rules
	Intermediate Pretrial Procedures: Discovery and Motions
	Final Pretrial Procedures: Trial Preparation
5: Investigating Your Case
	Informal Investigation
	Formal Discovery
	Depositions
	Written Interrogatories
	Requests for Production of Documents and Subpoenas
	Requests for Admissions
6: Settlement
	Court-Ordered Mediation
	Court-Ordered Arbitration
	Offers of Judgment
	Pretrial Settlement Conferences
	Post-Settlement Documents
7: Pretrial Motions
	Overview of Pretrial Motion Practice
	Is a Motion Necessary?
	What Goes Into a Motion?
	Scheduling a Court Hearing on a Pretrial Motion
	Serving and Filing Your Documents
	Court Hearings on Motions
	Common Pretrial Motions
8: Proving Your Case at Trial: The Plaintiff’s Perspective
	The Elements of a Legal Claim
	Finding the Elements of Your Claim
	Proving Each Element
	Your Burden of Proof
	Identifying Facts to Prove the Elements of Your Claim
	Looking Ahead to Trial: Organizing Your Evidence
	Learning About Your Adversary’s Case
9: Proving Your Case at Trial: The Defendant’s Perspective
	Identifying the Elements of the Plaintiff’s Legal Claim
	Identifying the Plaintiff’s Facts
	Defeating Any One Element of a Claim
	Disproving the Plaintiff’s Facts by Impeaching Witnesses
	Proving Your Version of Events
	Putting Defense Strategies Together
10: Selecting the Decision Maker
	Are You Eligible for a Jury Trial?
	Are You Better Off With a Judge or a Jury?
	Your Opponent’s Right to a Jury Trial
	Disqualifying a Judge
	Making a Timely Request for a Jury Trial
	The Jury Selection Process
	Your Right to Challenge Jurors
	What Jurors Should You Challenge?
	What Should You Ask Prospective Jurors?
	Alternate Jurors
11: Opening Statement
	Should You Make an Opening Statement?
	When to Make Your Opening Statement
	Putting Together Your Opening Statement
	What Not to Say During Your Opening Statement
	Rehearsing and Presenting Your Opening Statement
	Sample Opening Statement and Outline
12: Direct Examination
	Direct Examination as Storytelling
	Overview of Direct Examination Procedures
	Preparing for Direct Examination
	Presenting Your Own Testimony on Direct Examination
	Questioning Witnesses
	Hostile Witnesses
	The Judge’s Role
	Sample Direct Examination
13: Cross-Examination
	Overview of Cross‑Examination
	Should You Cross-Examine?
	Asking Questions on Cross-Examination
	Eliciting Helpful Evidence
	Impeaching Adverse Witnesses
	Basing Questions on Evidence You Can Offer
	What to Do If Your Witness Is Impeached
	Preparing for Cross-Examination
14: Closing Argument
	When to Deliver Your Closing Argument
	Preparing and Rehearsing Your Closing Argument
	Putting Together a Closing Argument
	What Not to Say During Your Closing Argument
	Rebuttal Argument
	Objections During Closing
	Sample Closing Argument and Outline
15: Exhibits
	Overview of Admitting Exhibits Into Evidence
	Step 1:	Mark Your Exhibits and Show Them to Your Adversary
	Step 2:	Identify (Authenticate) Your Exhibits
	Step 3:	Lay a Foundation
	Letting Jurors See Your Exhibits
	When Exhibits Are Required: The Best Evidence Rule
	Objecting to Your Adversary’s Exhibits
	Organizing Exhibits for Trial
16: Basic Rules of Evidence
	Relevance
	Excluding Relevant but Unfairly Prejudicial Evidence
	Opinion Evidence
	Rules Excluding Evidence Based on Social Policies
	Habit Evidence
	Hearsay
	Authentication of Documents and Other Tangible Exhibits
17: Making and Responding to Objections
	Overview of Objections
	Objections Made Before Trial: Motions in Limine
	Making Objections During Trial
	Responding to Your Adversary’s Objections
	Checklist of Common Objections
18: Organizing a Trial Notebook
	Setting Up Your Notebook
	Index Tab 1:Legal Pleadings
	Index Tab 2:Discovery Materials
	Index Tab 3: Legal Claim Outline
	Index Tab 4: Opening Statement Outline
	Index Tab 5: Direct Examination Outlines
	Index Tab 6:Cross-Examination Outlines
	Index Tab 7: Closing Argument Outline
	Index Tab 8: Jury Trial Documents
	Index Tab 9: Miscellaneous Documents
19: Expert Witnesses
	Who Are Expert Witnesses?
	Do You Need an Expert Witness?
	Special Rules for Expert Witnesses
	Finding and Hiring an Expert Witness
	Questioning Your Expert Witness at Trial
	Cross-Examining Your Opponent’s Expert Witness
20: When Your Trial Ends: Judgments and Appeals
	How Final Decisions Are Made at the End of Trial
	Requesting a New Trial or Change in the Verdict
	Appeals
	Collecting and Paying Judgments
21: Representing Yourself in Family Court
	Formulate a Divorce Game Plan
	Understanding the Basics of Family Law
	Filing for Divorce
	How Uncontested Divorces Work
	How Contested Divorces Work
	Modification of Support, Custody, and Visitation
22: Representing Yourself in Bankruptcy Court
	The Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Process
	Meeting of Creditors (341(a) Hearing)
	Relief From Stay Hearing
	Objection to Exemption Hearing
	Discharge of Debt Hearing
	Reaffirmation of Debt Hearing
	Getting Help Beyond This Book
23: Help Beyond the Book: People, Places, and Publications
	What You May Want to Research
	Sources of Information
Glossary
Index
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