Being called to court as a defendant is something that mercifully few of us expect to have to deal with in our lives, but the key word in this sentence is “expect”. In truth, it’s really not all that far removed from reality that any of us could end up in such a situation.
The dramatic way in which it is portrayed on TV, and the lurid details of the cases that reach the public sphere, can lead you to conclude that this is the kind of thing that happens to other people – but just remember that most of the people sitting in front of a bench of lawyers, justifying their conduct, thought precisely that before it happened to them.
There are endless reasons that you could end up in court: in truth, the reason itself doesn’t matter for now. It should simply be noted that you could be called to account for yourself in terms of something as unremarkable as a disputed debt or a parking offense. Regardless of why, it’s enough to be aware that it can happen, and to consider what your game plan is if it does. Because if you’re thinking “I’m in the right and they’re not going to find against me”, just remember again that this is what most other defendants will have thought right before they were found culpable.
Get All the Facts Down on Paper as You Know Them
The moment you know – or even suspect – that you are going to be asked to appear in court and give evidence, you must get the facts straight in your head. You may well be asked questions which appear to be hostile and leading, and your recollection is likely to be challenged. Getting everything you know all together on paper is, first of all, an exercise in recall for you; the longer you leave it between the event in question and you producing a recollection of it, the less certain you will be and the less credible your evidence.
Secondly, this kind of information will be essential for your lawyer, should you hire one, when it comes to advising you and countering the prosecution’s arguments. The more detail you have, the easier it will be for a lawyer to address gray areas in the case. If it is the prosecution’s argument that a detail in the case is unknown, or unknowable, then by merit of having greater detail and the ability to prove it you will be the one with the stronger case.
Do Hire a Lawyer, If at All Possible
Many people choose to defend themselves in court, feeling that the facts of the case are so clearly in their favor that they won’t need to hire a professional to ensure the court sees it the same way. Sometimes, if they are lucky, these defendants then get to hire a lawyer for their civil appeal and things can start to turn around. There is a romantic side to representing yourself in a trial or a lawsuit, but if the stakes are anything above a fine you can easily pay, it’s best to seek representation.
It’s not that you don’t remember the facts particularly well (you very well might) or that you can’t speak eloquently and with passion (if you’ve chosen to represent yourself, you almost certainly can). The point is that a lawyer has trained in precisely the kind of arguing that makes a court case. They will know points of law that you realistically can’t unless you’ve been over this course many times before. They will know how to structure a set of questions and precisely how to word answers for the maximum positive impact.
Be Prepared to Lose
Even if there is, to all appearances, a 0.05% chance of you losing a case, the very fact that it has been brought means that it isn’t being treated as time-wasting. The moment you are a defendant in a courtroom, the chance of you being judged legally culpable is non-zero. And while you will hope and prepare and expect to win, you need to be ready for what will happen if you do not.
This is true in a practical sense. If you are required to pay damages, do you know how this will be handled? If the possibility of jail time exists, how will it affect your job, your business or your family? How long do you have to lodge an appeal, and on which grounds can you bring one? It’s also true in an emotional sense; you need to be emotionally and mentally prepared for the eventuality of defeat. It’s a positive thing to be confident ahead of a case, but unchecked confidence can read as arrogance and look bad in the eyes of a judge or jury – plus, if you’re not ready to lose, the event of your defeat can be hugely demoralizing.
Be Polite
You may well be irritated by the fact that you are having to go through the process of defending yourself in court. You may picture yourself standing up to out your side of the story across, and doing so with a speech that drips with contempt for the idea that you even have to be there. It’s fine to feel all of this, as long as those feelings stay very firmly on the inside. Not one element of your case will be helped by engaging with the case against you in a supercilious way, nor a demeanor that could read as petty – including eye-rolling or visibly sighing.
There are two sides to your hopes of coming through a court case as a defendant; the first is the moral side, which we hope will be enough to see any innocent person cleared of the charges against them. Then there is the tactical side, which is concerned with not only how your case is structured, but how it is delivered. Particularly if you are in a case that will be tried by a jury, it is going to go against you if you are behaving in a way perceived as being rude. So as annoyed as you are to find yourself in this situation, let the outside show you as patient and committed, if tired.
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