Court Appearances Important Advice
HONEST, EFFECTIVE & AFFORDABLE
DAVID D. LENTZ
Attorney at Law
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CLIENTS
Below is some free legal advice from a lawyer with over 39 years experience.
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Believe us. We sympathize with you. But the fact of the matter is that society is getting more and more complex and everyone is very busy. And that includes judges and the courts. While we all might like a “kinder gentler” society, and while we all wish things were just a little simpler and easier, none of us, and that includes lawyers and clients, can ignore the facts of day to day living. We all have to be realistic, especially when it comes to dealing with overworked judges and court personnel. Don’t even think about wasting their time.
So, forgive us, but below is a set of instructions/principles which it is very strongly suggested that clients follow. Failure to do so, will almost always bring about a less desirable result than would otherwise be possible had these principles been followed.
Clients should be mindful that Courts handle thousands of cases per year. To handle these cases they impose strict time deadlines on setting cases for hearing and for the filing of pleadings etc. Lawyers and their clients must obey these rules or the lawyer and the client will be penalized or lose their cases. Courts are often not too inclined to continue cases or to listen to excuses as to why people don’t appear on time or why pleadings are not filed on time. Moreover, it is not unusual for trial lawyers to handle hundreds of cases per year. Between cases lawyers must contact witnesses, investigate the law and the facts and handle the preparation of pleadings. The lawyer wants to give your case the attention it deserves. It is imperative that the client assist the lawyer in preparing the case.
Moreover, if you are a client and you do the following then you are more likely to obtain the best possible result (given the facts and circumstances of your case). And, in cases where you are charged by the hour, your legal fees will very probably be lower, sometimes significantly lower, because fact collection and organization can be very time consuming and therefore costly to the client.
But even in cases where you are not charged by the hour, following the suggestions below, will greatly enhance the chance that you will get the best possible result in your case.
And to add to all of the above it is vitally important to remember that Judges are human. Most of the time they really do want to what is right. But they usually have many many cases, are often slightly overworked, and want the evidence presented in a clear and understandable fashion by lawyers and witnesses who have respect for the court’s time. In other words, do not ever give the appearance of not respecting the court. And this means, that you should respect the courts time as well and not waste it.
Given the foregoing, clients should abide by the following rules and recommendations :
1A. Preliminarily and importantly, all persons charged with crimes and/or misdemeanors (criminal and traffic defendants) have the right under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution not to testify in the trial against them. The decision as to whether our clients will testify or not testify is made based on a multitude of factors, one of the most important being whether our client has a prior criminal record (and of course, what they intend to say once they get on the witness stand). (Ask us about this !) All other witnesses (meaning those who are not on trial) must take the witness stand if called and answer questions, however, they do have the right to refuse to testify on any matter that may incriminate them. This is a complicated subject. So if you have a question about it, ask us.
1. Show up at court early (it is strongly suggested that this be least 30 minutes before any scheduled court hearing) dressed respectfully (that is, like your mother or dad would dress you if you were going to church, temple, synagogue, mosque, an interview for an office job, or to some place of worship).
2. Do not leave town or go on vacation without giving the lawyer your telephone number. If your mail or email address, telephone number or employer changes, tell us. It is extremely helpful if clients have and provide the attorney with his/her email address. Check your email often, especially before court dates for messages from us.
3. Always be respectful to any judge, opposing lawyers or police officer when testifying. Although it has become somewhat fashionable to do so, the better practice is NOT to refer to the police as the “cops” or the “fuzz” or in manner that uses slang or “street” terminology. (Call the policeman an “officer” or “sheriff” or “deputy” as the case may be, and/or a state trooper a “trooper”) Look at the judge or jury when testifying. Refer to the judge as “judge” “your honor” “sir” or “ma’am”. When a yes or no question is asked by the judge or the opposing lawyer it is often effective to respond with a “sir” or “ma’am” as well. But be truthful and genuine and not smart, condescending, or facetious.
4. Always prepared for all consultations, trials and proceedings and have your documents with you. Any time you come for an office visit (including your first office visit) or have a telephone conference bring or have available all court papers, summons, warrants, contracts, deeds, notes leases and/or as well as any other relevant documents and records. This avoids time consuming and confusing follow up calls and/or conferences. Confusion and delay only wastes time and often adds to your legal bill. Confusion before trial can lead to a poor result in your case.
5. During trial preparation, when your lawyer requests that you provide information, documents or answers to questions, you should provide all of the information or documents requested promptly. This is necessary so that the attorney may obtain subpoenaed witnesses, or to respond to requests for discovery or prepare for pleadings. The attorney has deadlines imposedby the Court and therefore so do you. If these deadlines are not met your case will be jeopardized and so will you.
6. Try to be as organized as possible in providing information to your lawyer and in testifying at any trial or hearing. Virtually all information is useless unless you can tell it in a fashion that the listener can understand. This most often requires that you can tell when important events happened (the time it happened) and the order in which those events occurred (eg., who did what to whom first). Often it is useful to tell your version of the facts in a chronological order. Tell what happened first, what happened second, what happened third and so on; all in the order that they happened without rushing through or skipping any facts. Speak up so people can hear you. Remember the judge or jury, or even your lawyer is not familiar with the events, and is often listening to them for the first time. Usually it is helpful, when you speak to replace “pronouns” such as “he” “she” “it” or “they”, with the actual names of people and to do this often during your explanation or testimony even though it sometimes sounds awkward. (For example, say “Bill shot at George”, and not “he shot at him” so that it clear that Bill shot at George instead of vice versa. This avoids making the listener confused as to whom “he” “she” etc. is.
7. During trial preparation, provide names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all witnesses who can support your case to your lawyer at your initial consultation or as soon thereafter as possible. These are people with first-hand knowledge who were actually present when critical events in your case happened. People who just heard what happened from someone else are usually not as helpful because unless they actually saw or heard (first-hand) what happened or what was said, then their testimony would be hearsay and thus not admissible.
8. You must tell us all relevant information about your case whether it is good or bad. Anything you tell us is confidential. Please ask us about these important confidentiality rules and whether or not you will have to testify. WARNING: We as attorneys are on your side, and our conversations (and the letters you write to us) are strictly confidential and will not be disclosed to anyone (including the police) without your consent. However, we cannot allow you to take the witness stand and testify in a manner that we know to be false based upon what you’ve told us (for example, you can’t tell us you are guilty and then testify that you aren’t guilty in court). However, this is a complex subject so ask us at the beginning or at our first consultation about your Fifth Amendment Privilege against Self-Incrimination and the fact, applicable in criminal cases, that you may not have to take the witness stand and testify in court at all.
9. Tell us about your prior criminal record, if any. Do this in both civil or criminal cases. This is important because the opposing side will often use your criminal record, if you have one, in an attempt to prove that your testimony is untrustworthy. It is always better for your lawyer to know about your prior criminal record, if you have one, before he puts you on the witness stand to testify. Having a criminal record does not mean that a client cannot or should not testify. However, if the client has a record, it is always better for the lawyer to know it beforehand so that the lawyer can take steps to minimize the impact of that record.
10. Do not surprise your lawyer with new information or new witnesses at the last minute before a trial or hearing, unless it was unavoidable and is absolutely necessary to do so. If appropriate documents and witnesses can’t be subpoenaed or produced in time for trial they may be inadmissible. If that happens you may lose your case or get a result that is worse than it should be. Subpoenas have to be issued and then served on witnesses well in advance of trial and continuances cannot always be obtained. The same is true for obtaining important documents and other items from third parties. Subpoena duces tecums to obtain the documents from other persons have to be issued and served on the person holding those documents well in advance of trial.
11. We strongly recommend that YOU CONTACT ALL OF YOUR SUPPORTING WITNESSES ONE WEEK BEFORE TRIAL TO MAKE SURE THEY PLAN TO ATTEND AND TESTIFY.
12. Do not give us the original documents, unless we specifically request them. In all events you must keep a copy of every document that you give us, including originals.
13. If a trial or court hearing is involved, under no circumstances are any statements (whether written or oral) that your lawyer makes to you regarding his belief as to what the judge or jury will do a guarantee of results in your case. Such forecasts of future judgments, verdicts, results and outcomes are, in all events (and regardless of how strongly worded), only a good faith prediction or forecast based on his/her/our knowledge or experience. There are never any guaranteed results when it comes to trials or litigation, simply because judges and juries are people and no one can predict with absolute total certainty what another person will do.
14. In criminal cases (federal or state), you have a right to trial by jury if you are charged with a felony. You are also entitled to a jury trial in the vast majority of instances where possible jail time is involved if you are convicted. This is true even in misdemeanor cases. There are no jury trials in General District Court or in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. However, you also have a right to a trial by jury in a misdemeanor case if it is appealed from the General District or Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court to the state Circuit Court. You also have a right to a jury trial in many civil cases. Ask your lawyer about this. In any event, if you want a jury you should notify your lawyer immediately at the initial consultation or as soon thereafter as possible. If you do not, it is possible that your right to a jury trial could be waived and you may not receive one. Jury trials are significantly more time consuming and costly and materially affect the fees and deposits we quote to the client at the beginning of a case.
15. If you have a “civil case” (such as a divorce, a contract dispute, a personal injury or other non-criminal case) a process known as “discovery” may be involved. Ask your lawyer as to when discovery rules are applicable. “Discovery” is a procedure whereby one side can ask the other questions and request that the other side to produce documents and other items for them in advance of full trial. This helps each side investigate the case and prepare for trial. Time deadlines are imposed by the discovery rules for discovery procedures such interrogatories, requests for admissions, requests for the production of documents, depositions and the like. Care must be taken to prepare for and to treat all discovery matters seriously and thoroughly. You must take any applicable discovery deadlines seriously and assist your lawyer in complying with these deadlines or you can be penalized and/or get a result that is not favorable in your case.
16. IMPORTANT VIDEO FOR CLIENTS WITH CRIMINAL OR TRAFFIC CASES:
We (the Attorneys) have put together a very informative consultation video, that we require all of our clients to watch simply because all clients MUST know the information in that video. It talks about your rights as a Client, some the issues that we will be up against and our general approach to handling all criminal and traffic cases. Here’s the link or URLto that very important video https://www.davidlentzlaw.com/criminal-traffic-lawyer/[cut and paste or type it into your internet browser]. The video can also be found on the Criminal and Traffic page of this website (see home page). By hiring us you agree to andacknowledge that you have watched all of that very important video