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Court
You can turn the TV on every afternoon and see reality-style courtroom dramas played out with idiot plaintiffs, moronic defendants, and angry judges, who allow the participants to represent themselves and say whatever they want to prove their side of the case. You may have even thought that if you could just get your batterer or stalker into court and tell the judge what he's been doing, the judge would really sock-it-to-him.
I hate to have to tell you this, but those courtroom dramas are a load of crap. The judges who they claim are retired judges, would never have let that nonsense go on in their courtrooms while they were actual judges. The truth is that real courts are governed by very strict rules and procedures, and none more so than criminal court, which is where the police cases are heard.
The boss in the courtroom is the Judge, whatever he says goes. The judge's enforcer is the Bailiff. There may be a jury who's job is to decide guilt or innocence, or the case may just be heard in front of the judge and he determines guilt or innocence. There are two tables in front of the judge, the Defense Attorney sits at one with the Defendant (the police prefer to call him the Suspect or Perpetrator). At the other table is the Prosecutor, also known as the City Attorney, District Attorney, or prosecutor. I often have victims ask me if they should hire an attorney on criminal cases. I tell them that there is no need to do that, the Prosecutor is their attorney.
You seldom get to just tell your story in court. The prosecutor has all the police reports and witness statements and the prosecutor goes first and tells the story of what happened by asking you specific questions which you answer. If the defense attorney thinks the prosecutor is asking questions that he shouldn't, the defense will object. Or, if you are going beyond answering the question they will object. The judge then decides if the court rules are being followed. He may or may not let you answer the question. This seems like a hard way to tell the story, but it helps your side because the prosecutor only asks pertinent questions, and steers you away from saying something that may harm the case. After the prosecutor and the defense have questioned each witness, the judge or jury decides guilt or innocence.
That is a simplified version of how it works but I'm no attorney and I don't want to spend a lot of time talking about procedures. I would rather tell you about a game the defense plays which I hear victims complaining about all the time.
THE GAME
The defense attorney's job is to have his client found not guilty, or to at least lessen the punishment. He will do whatever he can to help his case, this includes some things that you may think are playing dirty. Well, that's his job, and you can't hold it against him if he's good at it.
Don't talk to his attorney. He may ask you seemingly innocent questions but there is always a motive behind it. His attorney is not going to chat you up unless he is trying to get you to say something that he can later bring up in the trial. One of their main tactics is to tell you that all they want is to find a way to work this out. Hogwash. He knows that as adults we have learned to compromise and he will be counting on that to make you say something that will play-down his clients bad acts.
The biggest complaint that I hear repeatedly is that the defense attorney keeps getting a new court date every time you show up.It doesn't seem fair, you show up on the appointed date and time and the defense tells the judge they are not ready for some reason and the judge gives them a new court date in thirty days. Thirty days later you show up at the new hearing time and they do the same thing and get another new date.
It's very irritating but here's why they do it. On the first court date they wait to see if the victim, witness, and police show up. If nobody is there, the defense requests that the case be dismissed because there are no witnesses against his client. There's a very good chance that the judge will dismiss it. If all the witnesses are there, they ask for a continuance. Thirty days later at the new hearing the defense does the same thing. The reason they keep doing this is because sooner or later the witnesses will be unable to attend, or they will be so fed-up with the delays that they will choose not to attend thinking that it is just going to get continued again. The defense is just waiting until human nature takes over and witnesses don't attend. They will do this several times until the judge has had enough and orders them to present the case.
If you go through this little game, don't give up, the judge will finally make them put on the case.
Here's what I want you to think about when the defense is doing this. On the first day that you all appear in court, the prosecutor offers the defendant a deal which usually includes a reduced sentence if he pleads guilty. Every time they go back to court they offer him the same deal. If you keep attending every court date, he will eventually accept the deal. The part that you can take some satisfaction in is that on every court date that they are not ready, the defendant has to pay court costs and witness fees to the court, it could be hundreds of dollars. He also has to pay his attorney for every appearance, and believe me, attorneys aren't cheap. Eventually when he accepts the prosecutor's offer, he will get the same punishment that he would have gotten on the first date, but in the meantime he has paid thousands of dollars in court costs, witness fees, and attorney fees. hee hee!!!
WHEN DO I GET TO TELL THE COURT WHAT A JERK HE IS?
In criminal court you only get to answer the questions that the attorneys ask you, and they will only ask you questions pertaining to the one incident that he is charged with and not about his character. So, a lot of victims want to know when they can tell the judge about all the things he has done to her over the years.
The time for telling the story of your whole relationship is in divorce court and during Protective Order hearings. These hearings usually occur in family court which is a civil court. The defendant is not facing a jail sentence in these hearings so the burden of proof is less and the rules of court and evidence aren't as strict. Divorce court is completely civil law and I have no knowledge in that area. A Protective Order hearing, although it's usually held in Family Court, is enforced in criminal court so I do have some ideas to help you.
In the chapter about Protective Orders, I explained that the Temporary Protective Order (TPO) is issued based solely on what you write in the application, and for that reason it is only good for about thirty days usually. At the end of that thirty days there is a hearing where both parties get to discuss with the judge why the Protective Order is not necessary and should be dismissed, or why it should be extended.
First of all, be sure to attend the hearing and be on time. If the applicant (victim) does not appear, the TPO is almost always dismissed.
You don't have to bring an attorney, but if the adverse party is bringing one then it might be a good idea to have your own attorney so his can't pull any fast ones.
Dress appropriately for court. Dressing nicely wont help you sway the court, but dressing inappropriately will definitely hurt your case. You may not even be allowed into the courtroom wearing a hat, halter top,shorts, or sleeveless shirts for men. Wearing a T-shirt, sweat pants and flip-flops is not very helpful to you either. Remember, the judge went to many years of schooling and spent a lot of money on tuition to get into that courtroom, you should dress respectfully.
I was in court one day and my cell phone rang. The judge almost blew his top. If a judge will yell at a uniformed police officer in court, he will surely eat a civilian alive. Turn off your cell phone and beeper. Don't just put it on vibrate, judges have incredible hearing and they will get you. You're friend's worlds wont fall apart during the one hour you have to be in court.
Don't chew gum! I mean really, what were you thinking?
Everything I've mentioned so far are little irritants that will cause a bad first impression with the judge. I talk about them first because you will probably not be the first case heard that day, so the judge will be sitting up there checking out everyone in the courtroom and if he is irritated with you before your case is called, then you have to overcome that irritation. It's far better if you blend in so the judge doesn't even notice you until your case is called. Let the adverse party "just be himself" and be the one that irritates the judge.
When your case is called, the judge is going to ask you why you are in fear that if the adverse party has contact with you that he will be violent with you. Keep your testimony centered on past acts of violence. Don't be shy, describe what has happened to you. If you have friends or coworkers who saw you with bruises or injuries or who witnessed a battery, ask them to attend and tell the judge or to at least write a statement that you can show in court. If you had to go to a doctor or hospital for your injuries, bring your medical records. If you filed a police report in the past, bring a copy of it. Anything that you can bring in and show the court is going to make it more real for the judge.
Speak clearly, don't swear and don't whine. Don't think, well that's just the way I talk and the judge should accept me for who I am. Bologna. You are not there to make friends with the judge, you are there to convince the judge you need protection. Talking in such a way that makes the judge want to slap those dirty words right out of your mouth hurts your cause.
If you don't understand something, ask the judge to explain.
Remember that unfaithfulness is not grounds for a Protective Order. Neither is dishonesty. Stay focussed on past acts of violence, that is what the judge is looking for.
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