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When you filed your
divorce, you thought you and your spouse would be able to
agree upon everything, and you would get a divorce as soon
as the minimum waiting period passed. Of course, one of the
reasons you wanted a divorce is that your spouse is a very
uncooperative person. And of course, once you started the
divorce, your spouse showed his or her uncooperative nature
again, has refused to settle anything. The only way out is
to actually go to court on your divorce.
You receive a call from your attorney advising you that the
case is set for trial on a certain date. All of a sudden,
you are facing the prospect of having to actually testify
about the peculiar facts of your case. Of course, you know
that the Judge will administer an oath to you along the lines
of "do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth?" You also know it is perjury
to go into court and lie. You would not do that. However,
you have never testified before in court. You do not have
any idea what to expect. Here are some very practical tips
for testifying in court:
- Listen to the question. Make certain you understand the
question. If you do not understand the question, ask the
attorney to repeat the question.
- Repeat the question in your head.
- Answer the question with the shortest answer consistent
with the truth, and shut up.
- Do not volunteer information.
- Do not get angry.
- Answer the question truthfully, even if the answer hurts
you.
- Watch out for the compound question.
- Watch out for the question that assumes facts that are
not true.
- Watch out for questions that give a wrongful summation
of the facts.
- Do not characterize your testimony.
- Try to avoid using absolute words, like "no",
"never", and "all".
- Avoid getting boxed in with "everything you remember",
or "everything you know".
If you live in a city that has a number of different courts,
I strongly suggest that you take a day off, go to the courthouse,
and watch several trials. I do suggest that you do not go
in the courtroom before the judge that you will actually appearing
before, in your case. Instead, watch a criminal case, a personal
injury case, probate case, or a divorce case in another court.
It is best to find a court that is actually conducting a trial,
whether there is a jury, or a bench trial, or the judge is
conducting a formal hearing, with the witness on the witness
stand, counsel at counsel tables, and different witnesses.
You cannot remake the facts of your case. However, by diligent
preparation before you go to trial, you will enhance the probability
that the court will look favorably upon the facts of your
case.
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