Descripciones mejoradas de Syndetics:

Many disputes are too big for small claims court, but too small to justify a lawyer's contingency fee. Fortunately, with the help of this book, you can handle your own case-from start to finish. Represent Yourself in Court breaks down the trial process into easy-to-understand steps so that you can act as your own lawyer-safely and efficiently. You'll learn what to say, how to say it, even where to stand when you address the judge and jury. Armed with these simple but thorough instructions, you can be heard and taken seriously in any courtroom. Better yet, you'll be well prepared to achieve good results, without having to pay a lawyer's ransom. The 5th edition is completely updated to include the latest rules and court procedures and more sample documents to help guide you through your case. Whether you are a plaintiff or a defendant, this book will help you confidently handle a bankruptcy, divorce, landlord-tenant dispute, breach of contract, small business dispute or any other civil lawsuit. Book jacket.

Tabla de contenidos provista por Syndetics

• 1 Going it Alone in Court
• A The Scope of This Book(p. 3)
• B Can You Really Represent Yourself?(p. 4)
• C Coping With Being a Stranger in a Strange Land(p. 5)
• D Finding a Legal Coach(p. 6)
• E Using This Book(p. 8)
• F Trying to Settle Your Case(p. 11)
• G Alternatives to Trial(p. 11)
• 2 The Courthouse and the Courtroom
• A An Overview of Different Courts(p. 3)
• B A Typical Courthouse(p. 5)
• C The Courtroom Players(p. 7)
• D The Courtroom and Its Physical Layout(p. 13)
• E Courtroom Rules, Customs, and Etiquette(p. 16)
• 3 Starting Your Case
• A Do You Have a Good Case?(p. 3)
• B Is Your Lawsuit Timely?(p. 5)
• C Which Court Has the Power to Hear Your Case?(p. 8)
• D Beginning a Lawsuit(p. 17)
• 4 Pretrial Procedures
• A Know and Follow Pretrial Deadlines(p. 2)
• B Pretrial Conferences(p. 3)
• C Court-Ordered Mediation and Arbitration(p. 3)
• D Initial Pretrial Procedures: Setting Ground Rules(p. 4)
• E Intermediate Pretrial Procedures: Discovery and Motions(p. 9)
• F Final Pretrial Procedures: Trial Preparation(p. 11)
• 5 Investigating Your Case
• A Informal Investigation(p. 2)
• B Formal Discovery(p. 8)
• C Depositions(p. 12)
• D Written Interrogatories(p. 26)
• E Requests for Production of Documents and Subpoenas(p. 30)
• F Requests for Admissions(p. 33)
• 6 Settlement
• A Court-Ordered Mediation(p. 4)
• B Court-Ordered Arbitration(p. 8)
• C Offers of Judgment(p. 9)
• D Pretrial Settlement Conferences(p. 10)
• E Post-Settlement Documents(p. 12)
• 7 Pretrial Motions
• A Overview of Pretrial Motion Practice(p. 2)
• B Is a Motion Necessary?(p. 6)
• C What Goes Into a Motion?(p. 6)
• D Scheduling a Court Hearing on a Pretrial Motion(p. 8)
• E Serving and Filing Your Documents(p. 9)
• F Court Hearings on Motions(p. 9)
• G Common Pretrial Motions(p. 11)
• 8 Proving Your Case at Trial: the Plaintiff's Perspective
• A The Elements of a Legal Claim(p. 2)
• B Finding the Elements of Your Claim(p. 4)
• C Proving Each Element(p. 4)
• D Your Burden of Proof(p. 6)
• E Indentifying Facts to Prove the Elements of Your Claim(p. 7)
• F Looking Ahead to Trial: Organizing Your Evidence(p. 12)
• G Learning About Your Adversary's Case(p. 14)
• 9 Proving Your Case at Trial: The Defendant's Perspective
• A Identifying the Elements of the Plaintiff's Legal Claim(p. 3)
• B Identifying the Plaintiff's Facts(p. 3)
• C Defeating Any One Element of a Claim(p. 5)
• D Disproving the Plaintiff's Facts by Impeaching Witnesses(p. 6)
• E Proving Your Version of Events(p. 7)
• F Putting Defense Strategies Together(p. 8)
• 10 Selecting the Decision Maker
• A Are You Eligible for a Jury Trial?(p. 2)
• B Are You Better Off With a Judge or a Jury?(p. 2)
• C Your Opponent's Right to a Jury Trial(p. 3)
• D Disqualifying a Judge(p. 3)
• E Making a Timely Request for a Jury Trial(p. 5)
• F The Jury Selection Process(p. 6)
• G Your Right to Challenge Jurors(p. 8)
• H What Jurors Should You Challenge?(p. 11)
• I What Should You Ask Prospective Jurors?(p. 12)
• J Alternate Jurors(p. 16)
• 11 Opening Statement
• A Should You Make an Opening Statement?(p. 2)
• B When to Make Your Opening Statement(p. 3)
• C Putting Together Your Opening Statement(p. 5)
• D What Not to Say During Your Opening Statement(p. 7)
• E Rehearsing and Presenting Your Opening Statement(p. 10)
• F Sample Opening Statement and Outline(p. 12)
• 12 Direct Examination
• A Direct Examination as Storytelling(p. 2)
• B Overview of Direct Examination Procedures(p. 3)
• C Preparing for Direct Examination(p. 4)
• D Presenting Your Own Testimony on Direct Examination(p. 8)
• E Questioning Witnesses(p. 9)
• F Hostile Witnesses(p. 20)
• G The Judge's Role(p. 22)
• H Sample Direct Examination(p. 23)
• 13 Cross-Examination
• A Overview of Cross-Examination(p. 2)
• B Should You Cross-Examine?(p. 4)
• C Asking Questions on Cross-Examination(p. 5)
• D Eliciting Helpful Evidence(p. 7)
• E Impeaching Adverse Witnesses(p. 10)
• F Basing Questions on Evidence You Can Offer(p. 18)
• G What to Do If Your Witness Is Impeached(p. 19)
• H Preparing for Cross-Examination(p. 20)
• 14 Closing Argument
• A When to Deliver Your Closing Argument(p. 2)
• B Preparing and Rehearsing Your Closing Argument(p. 2)
• C Putting Together a Closing Argument(p. 3)
• D What Not to Say During Your Closing Argument(p. 12)
• E Rebuttal Argument(p. 13)
• F Objections During Closing(p. 14)
• G Sample Closing Argument and Outline(p. 14)
• 15 Exhibits
• A Overview of Admitting Exhibits Into Evidence(p. 2)
• B Step 1: Mark Your Exhibits and Show Them to Your Adversary(p. 5)
• C Step 2: Identify (Authenticate) Your Exhibits(p. 6)
• D Step 3: Lay a Foundation(p. 7)
• E Letting Jurors See Your Exhibits(p. 19)
• F When Exhibits Are Required: The Best Evidence Rule(p. 20)
• G Objecting to Your Adversary's Exhibits(p. 21)
• H Organizing Exhibits for Trial(p. 23)
• 16 Basic Rules of Evidence
• A Relevance(p. 2)
• B Excluding Relevant but Unfairly Prejudicial Evidence(p. 5)
• C The Rule Against Opinions(p. 6)
• D The Rule Against Character Evidence(p. 8)
• E Hearsay(p. 10)
• 17 Making and Responding to Objections
• A Overview of Objections(p. 2)
• B Objections Made Before Trial: Motions in Limine(p. 3)
• C Making Objections During Trial(p. 4)
• D Responding to Your Adversary's Objections(p. 9)
• E Checklist of Common Objections(p. 12)
• 18 Organizing a Trial Notebook
• A Setting Up Your Notebook(p. 2)
• B Index Tab 1: Legal Pleadings(p. 2)
• C Index Tab 2: Discovery Materials(p. 3)
• D Index Tab 3: Legal Claim Outline(p. 4)
• E Index Tab 4: Opening Statement Outline(p. 4)
• F Index Tab 5: Direct Examination Outlines(p. 4)
• G Index Tab 6: Cross-Examination Outlines(p. 5)
• H Index Tab 7: Closing Argument Outline(p. 6)
• I Index Tab 8: Jury Trial Documents(p. 6)
• J Index Tab 9: Miscellaneous Documents(p. 6)
• 19 Expert Witnesses
• A Who Are Expert Witnesses?(p. 2)
• B Do You Need an Expert Witness?(p. 2)
• C Special Rules for Expert Witnesses(p. 4)
• D Finding and Hiring an Expert Witness(p. 7)
• E Questioning Your Expert Witness at Trial(p. 11)
• F Cross-Examining Your Opponent's Expert Witness(p. 17)
• 20 When Your Trial Ends: Judgments and Appeals
• A How Final Decisions Are Made at the End of Trial(p. 3)
• B Requesting a New Trial or Change in the Verdict(p. 5)
• C Appeals(p. 7)
• D Collecting and Paying Judgments(p. 11)
• 21 Representing Yourself in Divorce Court
• A Formulating a Divorce Game Plan(p. 4)
• B Understanding the Basics of Family Law(p. 16)
• C Filing for Divorce(p. 23)
• D How Uncontested Divorces Work(p. 25)
• E How Contested Divorces Work(p. 29)
• F Modification of Support, Custody, and Visitation(p. 40)
• 22 Representing Yourself in Bankruptcy Court
• A The Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Process(p. 3)
• B Meeting of Creditors (341(a) Hearing)(p. 5)
• C Relief From Stay Hearing(p. 6)
• D Objection to Exemption Hearing(p. 8)
• E Discharge of Debt Hearing(p. 9)
• F Reaffirmation of Debt Hearing(p. 10)
• G Getting Help Beyond This Book(p. 11)
• 23 Getting Help from an Attorney: Hiring a Legal Coach
• A Why Consult a Lawyer?(p. 2)
• B Finding and Selecting a Qualified Legal Coach(p. 5)
• C Keeping Lawyer Bills Down(p. 12)
• 24 Researching the Law
• A What You May Want to Research(p. 2)
• B Sources of Information(p. 5)
• C Resolving Legal Research Problems(p. 16)
• Glossary
• Index

Reseñas proporcionadas por Syndetics

Library Journal Review

The nuts and bolts of self-representation in court are presented in this detailed, sensible book. The authors describe the legal process from the investigation of the case through the collection of a judgment, with an emphasis on what happens in the courtroom. Bergman and Berman-Barrett share the procedures and methods a lay person needs to survive in an environment that is not necessarily friendly to nonattorneys. Understanding that in the law the devil is in the details, they take pains to avoid oversimplification, and they do an equally good job of illuminating concepts like burden of proof and procedures like marking and identifying exhibits. The authors highlight important information with icons that alert the reader to a practical suggestion, warn of a potential problem, or refer to other resources on the subject. Highly recommended for even modest legal self-help collections, including those that already own Robert Schachner's How and When To Be Your Own Lawyer (LJ 3/1/ 93).-Joan Pedzich, Harris, Beach & Wilcox, Rochester, N.Y. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Notas de autor provistas por Syndetics

Paul Bergman is a Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law
Sara J. Berman-Barrett is an attorney and bar review professor