Steve Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 ...or so goes the adage about a person who represents himself in court. Frankly, I've thought very seriously about representing myself for a potential legal matter that I may have to go to court. Maybe its all the tv shows that have some of us thinking we can do it. My guess its the cost. More Americans serving as their own lawyers ...In California, about 80 percent represent themselves in civil family law cases â?? such as divorce, custody and domestic violence cases â?? according to the Self-Represented Litigation Network. In San Diego alone, the number of divorce filings involving at least one person not represented by a lawyer rose from 46 percent in 1992 to 77 percent in 2000. In Nebraska in 2003, 13,295 people represented themselves in civil cases in state district courts. By 2007, the number had risen to 32,016, or 45 percent. The result? "Courts are absolutely inundated with people who do not understand the procedures," Talia said. "It is a disaster for high-volume courts, because an inordinate amount of their clerks' time is spent trying to make sure that the procedures are correctly followed."... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 It is a 2 way monster. If you file in small claims court and their lawyer shows up, you are fried. If you hire a lawyer, you have to generally pay for the lawyer up front, which most people can not do. AS for representing yourself/ourself, most of us are clueless as to what to do. The TV drama courts are just that, drama with no realism to a real court. So if you watch that crap, you are fried. If you do hire a lawyer, he may not be very good if good at all in that area of law. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rchapstick Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 In CA, it is my understanding that a lawyer CANNOT represent you in small claims court. With any thing else, there is no way I would even think of representing myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chill Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 i've represented myself in some family courts matters and beat a paid lawyer. in oz they have free courses for doing this, i also sat in on a few cases to get a feeling/understanding. i still bumbled/forgot/spluttered along as i spoke for myself. if your not lying then its relatively easy and most judges can read that the clerk praised me afterwards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dean Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 In Kansas in small claims court, its the same as Califnoria, only the defendant and plantiff can be present. If the P does not show up, the defendant wins judgment. I plan on using it twice in the next couple of months (the maximum allowed in a year's time). I also plan on suing a business in Scotland, if I can sue them here instead of in Scotland. Of course, suing and winning is one thing; collecting is another matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 I was in court a while ago. The other parties lawyer questioned me. He would use compound statements. For example, This is A and then he would speak for some time about B and then ask, is this true? A was false, B was true but what he was trying to do is trick me into saying A and B are true. I listen to a CD recording of the hearing and I was surprised how many times he did this but I was even more surprise that I caught him in each try. Where I screwed up is when I took the defense stand. I should not have in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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