When you’re served with a summons the first time, after the grief and anger subsides, at some point you’ll admit to yourself, “I don’t know what to do.” Don’t panic. Don’t put off dealing with it. By all means, refrain from contacting the plaintiff. From one non-lawyer to another, here’s some straightforward guidance on what to do next.
Preliminary Steps
First, read the complaint closely — take your time! — and get all that cussing out of your system. Work through your emotions as a first step so you can decide with a clear head whether to defend the case or take a default. If you choose to default, accept responsibility for whatever comes next and read no further.
Second, read the summons to find the number of days you have to respond before you’re subject to a default judgment. Add those days to the date you were served and mark your due date on a calendar. Set a one-week reminder to ensure you have enough time to get your response filed with the clerk of court.
Routine Process
From this point on, there are really only three things to do, but you’ll do them continuously:
- Learn the rules of civil procedure and evidence. Litigation flows from an initial complaint to a final judgment, and up through an appeal if necessary. Rules apply to each stage and throughout the case. While some judges go easy on self-represented litigants, ignorance of these rules sets up the roadblocks and speed traps that defeat most first-timers, even when our cases have merit.
- Practice legal research and the art of legal persuasion. When deciding cases, trial judges must follow the relevant opinions of appellate courts or risk having their rulings reversed. You’ll want to find and cite those opinions in your motions and oral arguments to persuade the judge to rule in your favor.
- Stay organized with case management software. You won’t believe how fast the paperwork stacks up, or how easy it is to miss a deadline. You’ll need a way to assemble and manage your documents, collect and organize your research, and stay on task. The lawyer on the other side will use a case management solution, and you should too!
That’s essentially all there is to making a good showing in court. While every case is different, if you learn basic civil procedure, gain some legal analysis skills, and use solid case management, you’ll stay ahead of the panic that often immobilizes other first-time litigants.
You Can Do Lawyerly Things
So lawyers spend three years of graduate school learning that? Well, not exactly. It’s a wee bit more complicated when you plan on representing others in court. But as a pro se litigant, your efforts should be geared to getting past a judge’s skepticism and capably presenting your arguments in a way he or she can understand. You don’t need to be F. Lee Bailey to do that.
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If you’ve been sued, do you remember your “I don’t know what to do” moment? What other things did you find useful then, or would find useful now? Share your recollections and suggestions in the comments below.
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Pssst! Hey, you there, struggling to win your case. Isn’t it time you gave Courtroom5 a spin? We publish articles like this to help you level the playing field, but it’s sometimes too late to save your case. Stop trying to catch up. Get ahead of the game and start driving your case to the judgment you deserve. See how it works today!
Carolyn Hedgespeth says
You can help us. It’s things going on in his case He is not guilty of anything. They want to save f ace. Coming all the way to Wayne county for a drug bust and it wasn’t any drugs. Or drug seller. How could he get out of jail and start to sell again when he wasn’t selling in the first place. So many errors and lies. I promise we will fight this thing until the day we die. Their lies won’t paunst my son as a murderer. Those are his words and my prayers. The God we serve said fight and our choice of weapon is the Word of the living God. No weapons formed against us will ever prosper. Help us please, it is the first time for every case, let our be your first, to clean up these dirty prosecutors and brought judges in Oakland county Michigan. And other County who lanching our black men in the courtrooms and destroying their families lives. It’s just another avenue they use to destroy our race and other known races they hate be and are seeking out to destroy. That’s Satan trap Let us kill that spirit with the justice our forefathers fought and died for. We won’t allow then to break Constitutional laws rules regulations and creative their own world, by wrongfuly imprisoning our people and building walls. I know it’s a law that will remove the STAYE I know how ever or whenever it was made, there is laws that over ruled it somewhere and how. And it’s a true attorney who can’t be brought or looking for stardom. Please help me, your rewards will supernatural blessings no man or dollar amount can give you.
Thank you for taking the time to read both of my letters. It really really appreciate it.
586-843-6771
Mrs Carolyn Hardwick-Hedgespeth
huge discount says
In this situation, the first thing you need to calm down and seek help from a lawyer who will clearly tell you how to behave and what to do in the future.