Make A Good Impression In The Courtroom - Appearance, Civility and Honesty Matter
/DRESSING THE PART - SUIT UP FOR COURT
Back in my law school days, I attended a landlord-tenant ("unlawful detainer") morning session in Los Angeles. Our professor allowed us to sit in the jury box, as these hearings did not involve juries, and we were able to watch the proceedings.
Usually in these hearings, a landlord or creditor is the plaintiff, and the tenant is the defendant. For the majority of the Plaintiffs, they "suited up". Ever watch the television show, "How I Met Your Mother"? That's right, SUIT UP! These creditors were dressed as well as the attorneys (and yes, some of the creditors were attorneys; their job was to handle ten to twenty unlawful detainer cases per day).
The majority of the Defendants did not bother to dress in more than a tee shirt/flannel shirt, and blue jeans. One Defendant was asked to leave because he wore shorts. The judge would not continue his matter to another day, but insisted he "go buy a pair of pants, or go home and get a pair of pants, or your case will go forward without you."
Dress for court as if you are going to church, temple, or whatever your institution of religion is. Are you agnostic or atheist? Then dress as if you are going to a good friend's funeral. Again, SUIT UP!
You may ask, will the judge favor my case by dressing up? Likely not. However, the judge will appreciate the effort you took to make his courtroom look like a professional forum of law, and should give you the respect to state your facts (including additional time) if you are looking like "you mean business". That extra minute on a busy court day can impact your case by allowing you to bring in additional facts and argument. With all due respect to Wal-Mart shoppers (and I do shop there), if you dress for Wal-Mart in court, the judge will not have much patience for anything you say.
During my first year as an attorney, I actually did appear in a Courtroom (but not for a case, just to drop off paperwork) in jeans and a short-sleeve polo shirt. Every other attorney, and the judge, took note, and I was lightly ridiculed for the next few months about that appearance. Appearances are important in court, and one of the easiest things you can do to prepare for Court is SUIT UP.
OH, BEHAVE!
Returning to that day of observing in Court, I also took note that those parties who spoke out of turn did not do well. If you would like to get on a judge's bad side, try interrupting the judge in Court. Big mistake. You interrupt the judge, you will at best get a warning from the judge, or worse get a lecture. Attorneys are aggressive with the facts, aggressive with argument, but when the judge speaks, we listen. When a judge makes an order, we are not talking to our client, and you (the client/party) should have your eyes on the judge when he speaks.
When the other side of the case is speaking, you should either look at your notepad (if taking notes), look at the speaker, or look at the judge. An important note: looking does not mean glaring, winking, eyebrow raising, sighing, or raising your hand. I recall a judge in Hemet several times referring to his father when he stated "Yo no quiero oír el sonido de los huevos de freír", or "I don't want to hear the sound of frying eggs". As a party (or anyone in the Courtroom for that matter), and you decide to hiss, sigh, or draw breath loudly when the other side of judge is talking, you will have an uphill battle to regain favor in the courtroom. To put it simply: "Don't be a jerk in Court" is a handy tip.
HONESTY IS THE ONLY POLICY
Again, I am going back to that law school day in Court. I heard a lot of Defendants state their facts, and most of them, even after hearing the judge's comment, failed to take note of the following. When the Judge looks at you, and asks you to speak or give an answer, DO NOT BEGIN YOUR STATEMENT BY STATING "TO BE PERFECTLY HONEST, YOUR HONOR...".
Several folks stated this, and the Judge would interrupt immediately (did I mention Judge's can interrupt? Oh yes they can, it's their courtroom) and ask "Were you not being perfectly honest up to now?".
This was a seasoned judge, who I believe that he believed most people speaking were just nervous, and using that phrase to be respectful. However, I use this example to demonstrate that honesty is key. Attorneys like myself have pretty good "poop detectors" (I am keeping this blog PG rated), and an opposing party who lies, bends the truth, or withholds facts that should have been presented to Court, will likely be exposed by us as liars to the Court. Nothing personal, that is our job. The result is we will expose your character as a liar, and we will likely prevail at a hearing or trial.
The beauty of the Court system is during the majority of the procedure, the facts you bring to the table will determine 99% of the cases. Our jobs as your counsel are to frame the facts with the law, and allow the process (the judge) to use the facts and law to make their decision. Time and time again, I have witnessed (and sometimes represented parties) who chose to not disclose vital facts about a case until asked by the judge/opposing counsel, and their answer exposed their entire factual story as a lie. Result: losing the case.
If you have facts that are both helpful and hurtful to your case, should you try to hide the bad stuff, you may hurt your case once in the Courtroom. Often when both sides have both valid facts/arguments, and facts that hurt their case, they and their counsel sit in a room before the hearing and negotiate a settlement/compromise. Many of my hearings do involve such negotiations, which result in my clients getting "some" of what they want, but having to compromise on some issues. In divorce and probate cases, that is the norm, not the exception.
Bottom line: be honest in the Courtroom, and equally as important, be honest with your attorney before a legal hearing or trial!
GETTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Often before a hearing or trial, I will sit down with my clients just to discuss presentation in Court. Appearance, Civility, and Honesty are key, and will result in being best prepared for Court, and assist in a successful outcome.