Representing yourself in court: staying on point

Representing yourself in court–appearing pro se–is one of the more difficult things to do, although many people do not seem to realize it. Judges and attorneys dread the pro se party, however. As I have said before, the court system is a bit like visiting a foreign country. If you don’t speak the language, nobody will understand you (obviously). Lawyers speak the “language,” and non-lawyers do not.

But you can represent yourself. One of the most important things, however, is to stay on point. The point is what the judge or jury needs to know in order to make a decision.

Suppose your ex-boyfriend sues you in conciliation (small claims) court for his half of a car you bought together and put in both of your names. It was an ugly breakup, and there is a lot of animosity between the two of you. When you get to court, you will have to present your side of the story. (Conciliation or small claims court looks an awful lot like daytime television court shows like Judge Judy or the People’s Court.)

Your ex-boyfriend will present his case first. He will tell the judge why he thinks you owe him the money. He may also bring up things that are completely off the point. For example, he may say that you cheated on him with his best friend, or that he paid for your plane ticket when the two of you visited your family in another state.

When it is your turn to talk, stay on point. Do you owe your ex-boyfriend for half the value of the car, or not? If he wants to keep the car, then he should probably pay you for half the value. If you want to keep the car, then you should probably pay him. There is also a question of the value of the car. Bring an estimate of the car’s value to court if you want to dispute the value.

Of course, it may be that you had an agreement in place that your ex-boyfriend would pay for half of the car, which you would drive. In exchange, you would pay $100 more per month for rent for a year. If that was the deal, then maybe you do not owe him anything for the car, since you have already paid him for your half by paying extra rent.

You do not need to talk about whether or not you did cheat on him. And you do not need to talk about whether you paid for your plane ticket or not. Those things are completely off the point. You can point out to the judge that those things are irrelevant, but do not get sucked into arguing about things that have nothing to do with the claims. Those things will not help the judge or jury decide whether you owe your ex-boyfriend for half of a car.

When you wander off the point, either on your own or in response to the other party wandering off the point, you weaken your case or your defense. You must stay on the point in order to make your case and win. This is the main difference between someone appearing pro se and someone who is represented by an attorney. An attorney will (usually) stay on the point, so that the judge hears what he or she needs to know to make a decision on the claims before the court. When you represent yourself, you must do the same.

[image: Wikipedia]