Court Hearings: Everything You Need To Know To Protect Yourself

court hearing

Going to court can be intimidating. There is almost nothing in a court’s atmosphere that can be described as friendly or welcoming, especially to someone who doesn’t appear at court often. It doesn’t help to know that there are things outside of your control that can go wrong and affect the outcome of your case.

Here is what you can do to protect yourself and your interests if you have a court hearing coming up soon.

Get an independent record of the proceedings

This is particularly important if you are involved in what is a “high stakes” court proceeding, with dire consequences for you or a relative if the case goes against you. This could be a case involving a heavy fine or a long sentence.

You won’t be comforted to know that you can’t always rely on the court’s record of the testimony. For one thing, courts have been replacing human stenographers with digital ones. You can learn more here about the difference between the two. Understand that the difference can mean not all of the testimony is recorded. Should you need your case reopened, you may find that some of the testimony recorded by a digital stenographer is unintelligible.

The reason for this is that digital stenographers are not always good at recording multiple voices speaking at once, as sometimes happens at court. They may record this as a jumble of text and you won’t have an accurate version of what happened. You can fix that by getting your own human stenographer who would be able to tell the difference between distinct voices.

Attend the hearings

As a rule, hearings are more informal events than trials. This does not mean you should approach them with an informal attitude. Some hearings are called to deliver judgement on a particular situation. Others are held to determine and clear up certain administrative issues before a longer, more formal trial.

You may decide because the hearing is less formal, there will be consequences arising out of your non-attendance. This assumption is a grave mistake to make, as there are several legal consequences to not attending certain hearings, including having the judge issue a warrant for your arrest.

Your actions may have been an honest mistake. However, as it is said, ignorance of the law is no excuse. You will be fully expected to stand the consequences of your non-appearance, regardless of the reasons.

Hire a lawyer

This is why it may be best to have legal counsel before a hearing, even if you plan to appear at the hearing without a lawyer. A lawyer will give you the best advice to help you respond to administrative matters as promptly as possible. They’ll also let you know what hearings you can miss and let you know which you should attend. 

Getting legal advice and/or having legal counsel at your hearing is a good idea because it is likely that the other party at your hearing will have a lawyer. This is a situation where you are at an immediate disadvantage and can even lose your case. A lawyer understands court procedure and how a case should be presented before a judge. They will use their experience to present your case in the best light possible and get you the best result they can under the circumstances.

Do your research

Depending on your circumstances, you may not be able to afford a lawyer, or you may believe the matter is simple enough for you to represent yourself. That’s your choice to make. It may be wise though to know the law as it pertains to your case before you attend the hearing.

If you decide to take on the duties of legal counsel, you will have to learn court procedure, so you file the correct forms at the correct times. Ensure that you have the correct dates for your court appearances. Keep up with correspondence from the court. 

These are all extra duties you must make time for in your already busy life if you want to protect yourself and have the most successful outcome of your case. Be sure that you are ready to handle all of this before you commit to attending hearings with legal counsel or a lawyer.

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Arrange for physical protection if necessary

If you are a victim of domestic violence or are in any other situation where your life is threatened, and you will be attending a hearing with the perpetrator, it may be a good idea to take some precautions.

Do not attend the hearing alone. This way the perpetrator will be dissuaded from approaching you. There will also be witnesses if you are threatened or harmed. Try to ensure that you are not followed home as well.

As you can see from the above, there are several different reasons you might need to protect yourself at a court hearing. See which applies to you and put the steps in place.