The 110% Advantage: A Guide to Court Appearances
Excellence for Self-Represented Litigants
As a self-represented litigant, you must commit to giving 110% in every aspect of your case. This level of dedication means pouring everything you have into your actions in court, from the documents you draft to the presentations you deliver. Going to court is about achieving a specific result that can't be attained otherwise, and to do that, you must approach your case with total conviction. Your goal is to create the most persuasive presentation possible to win the favor of the court. The dividends of this hard work will pay off many times over.
The Art of Drafting Documents
Preparing court documents requires meticulous attention to detail. Every aspect, from the paragraph numbering to the line and paragraph spacing, must be impeccable and adhere to the rules of court. The substance of your documents must also be on par; they should be succinct, convincing, and free of anything superfluous or extra. A key part of this process is to draft a document on a computer, then print it out for a physical review. The analog world reveals things the digital world doesn't. I'll go through the printed document with a pen, crossing out words, adding new ones, and underlining areas that need work. This iterative process of drafting, printing, and editing multiple times helps refine the document.
From Broad Strokes to Nuanced Details
The editing process is not a one-and-done task. When you first draft a document, you tend to see the broad, general issues. As you correct these, you'll start to notice more nuanced, detailed issues that were previously hidden. For example, when you're focusing on formatting like line spacing or paragraph numbering, you may overlook grammatical subtleties. A sentence that's difficult to read or requires the reader to stop and think about it isn't clear enough and needs to be re-expressed. Sometimes, simply reorganizing a sentence can make all the difference, giving it more "oomph" so it "lands properly" with the reader. This attention to detail ensures your document is easy to understand, digest, and is memorable.
The Importance of a Flawless Final Product
After you've gone through your documents, checking for spelling and grammar, you must also concept-check them. A document can be grammatically perfect but still fail if its concepts are weak or unconvincing. Once you have a final version, print it out one last time to check for any weird formatting issues, like incorrect page numbers. When you're certain it's perfect, print the final copies for submission and service. It's a good practice to shred any draft copies to avoid accidentally serving the other party with a document full of notes, spelling errors, and grammatical mistakes.
Creating a Powerful Oral Presentation
Your oral presentation will often be based on your written submissions. The goal is to take a lengthy written document—which could be dozens or even a hundred pages—and distill it down to its most powerful points. The ideal length for an oral presentation is about five pages, as anything longer may not be completed during a typical hearing. This concise, five-page document should highlight the key points you want the judge to consider, assuming they will read the full written submission. A well-structured oral presentation should be linear, often chronological, and should argue both for your position and against the opposing party's.
Navigating the Courtroom with Conviction
During your oral presentation, you must stay focused and not be derailed by the other side. They may try to rebut what you're saying, object, or even insult you. You must present your argument with absolute politeness, conviction, and certainty, like a machine. The judge is the only one who matters in the hearing. If you've put in the work, you have the opportunity to win a favorable judgment. Even if you lose, if you gave it 110%, you can lose with grace, knowing you did everything possible. Furthermore, if you had a strong case but lost at the court of first instance, you've created a record that can be used to appeal the decision and correct any errors the judge may have made.
Conclusion
Giving 110% in court is a commitment to excellence from beginning to end. It means not only dedicating yourself to perfecting your documents and presentations but also preparing for the long game. When you approach your case with this level of effort, you set yourself up to win on the merits of your hard work. If you do not put in this effort, you'll have no one to blame but yourself for not achieving the result you wanted. By committing completely to every detail of your case, you won't regret the effort you put in.