Who Should I Bring to Court?

Most non-Collaborative Law divorces in Tarrant County start out with a temporary hearing right away after the other spouse has been served with papers. Depending on what the issues are for court, you may feel the need to bring witnesses, especially if your close friends and family suggest it to you.

While witnesses are sometimes necessary, too much of a good thing can be bad. Here's a way to approach the decision on who should attend:

First, ASK YOUR ATTORNEY! It's not good to just surprise your attorney by bringing a whole crowd of witnesses and supporters. It's also not good to do nothing and not tell your attorney who you can bring. There may be some witnesses your attorney would appreciate knowing about, so discuss the facts and possible witnesses with your attorney, and then follow your attorney's advice on who to bring.

Second, bring people with personal knowledge of relevant facts who have been approved by your attorney. The witnesses, as much as possible, should be unblemished citizens of high character. If some of your witnesses have little "issues", you should inform your attorney well in advance. You might also vet your witnesses by looking them up on FaceBook, My Space and Google. Check their postings and pictures for embarrassing details. Print off what you find.

Third, don't bring the kids unless the judge has specifically requested it.

Fourth, don't bring a huge group of witnesses and supporters. The judge does not count the supporters for each side and make the larger group the winner. A big group is disruptive and can be loud. You don't need to have a lot of people showing up and giving you advice all day at court. You just need to work with your lawyer.

Fifth, bring all necessary documents that you have. Telling the judge that you can go home or go to your pick up to get the records won't help. The only thing that counts is what is presented in court. As the Scouts say, Be Prepared! Bring whatever you may need and share it with your attorney.

Your day in court will be a lot easier if you discuss your questions, especially ones about witnesses, in advance with your attorney. Good luck!

7 Tips for Witnesses

To be an effective witness requires preparation and forethought by the prospective witness. Ideally, there should be coordination and discussions with the attorney who is calling the witness. In the best situation, there would also be a rehearsal in a simulated courtroom environment, although that rarely happens in the ordinary case. The following are some basic steps that can be taken to prepare a witness to testify.

1. Review the facts, records or whatever will be testified about. Refresh your memory so that you remember the important facts and are clear about what happened. Sometimes, there is a long time between the event that occurred and when the testimony takes place. Be sure to review all the facts and any records about the event. It's a good idea to record your observations right after an event occurs so that you can review that later to help remember what happened.

2. Talk with the attorney about what to expect. This would include reviewing possible questions, objections and strategies. Have the attorney try to anticipate what will be discussed so you can prepare for it. There is nothing unethical about rehearsing your answers to some questions, but you need to be careful to avoid appearing too rehearsed because that might appear dishonest or not credible. It's nice to not be surprised. You can give a more accurate answer and be more helpful to a judge or jury if you have had time to think about an issue and have a clear memory about it.

3. Always follow the judge's instructions. The judge is in charge and you will not win an argument with him or her. You can hurt your credibility if you don't do something the judge ordered you to do.

4. Be sure to listen to the question before you start to answer. Think about your answer before you start giving it. This isn't a race -- you don't have to hurry an answer. Pause before answering. Be sure you pay attention and hear the whole question, and then answer. If you don't understand the question or didn't hear it clearly, you can ask that the question be clarified or repeated.

5. Pay attention to basic courtroom etiquette.

• Don't argue with the other attorney, and especially not with the judge.
• Don't interrupt the questioner.
• If there's an objection, stop talking and then do whatever the judge tells you to do -- answer the question or don't answer it.
• Just answer the questions. Don't ask a question in response.
• Speak up so everyone can hear you.
• Don't lose your temper. That will hurt your credibility enormously.

6. Don't try to carry the whole load--rely on an attorney. The attorney will have a fresh perspective and be able to look at the big picture. If the attorney does not think that asking you a certain follow-up question will help, the attorney normally will more on to more important things. If you think you got "hurt" by some questioning, it is better to let the attorney decide whether to get back into the issue. The attorney is in a better position to determine what is important and what is not essential. If you get cut off and cannot give a full answer when you are being cross-examined, let your attorney decide on whether to pursue it.

7. Tell the truth! Don't embellish, exaggerate or generalize. Attorneys and judges are usually very literal-minded. Don't guess at the answer if you're not sure. It is OK to say you don't remember something. Just be truthful.

If you follow these simple tips, your experience as a witness will be less stressful, more productive and more effective.

10 Tips for Witnesses: Don't Give These Answers!

After recently spending several days in court on various matters involving testimony, I feel like I should share some fairly common statements that should no longer be used in court. I understand that some of these are the way people may talk in a conversation, but they were not uttered in conversations. They were spoken in a formal court hearing which operates under different rules than regular social discourse. The following statements are guaranteed to not impress or convince a judge or jury in court:

1. "I have all the records at home/in my truck/at my office, etc. and I can bring them in." Sorry, but you need them right now and you can't stop court to go get them.

2. "Everybody knows that ______ is true." That's not acceptable proof. 'Everybody' needs to testify.

3. "I got it off the Internet, so I know it's right." Think again!

4. "I can get letters from lots of friends/co-workers/relatives/neighbors saying that." Have you heard of hearsay?

5. "I could have gotten the records/pictures/witnesses, etc. if I had just known that I needed them." You should prepare in advance with your lawyer and follow his or her instructions about what you need to bring.

6. "I have it all on my computer." If your computer's not with you today in court, it does no good.

7. "I can bring in lots of witnesses to prove that." If so, you should have brought them in.

8. "They're all lying about me." Sometimes conspiracies happen, but more often it seems likely to be true if a number of live witnesses come into court and say the same thing.

9. "I may have plead guilty, but I didn't really do what they said I did." Sorry, but you can't argue that for a guilty plea. If you were convicted after a trial, you could say you didn't do it and that the jury was wrong, but that still won't get you anywhere. A conviction is a conviction.

10. "Do I have to answer that?" I love to hear that from an opposing witness. That always grabs my attention. 99.9% of the time, the answer is "Yes". I want to find out what you're scared of.

Bottom line: You lose credibilty and waste time by using these answers. Anyone about to testify in court should talk extensively with the lawyer for your side to prepare for your testimony. Remember, this is more than a simple conversation over coffee. There are rules and formalities imposed by the court system and you must observe them.