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Archive for the ‘pro per’ Category

Ignorance of the Law is NO EXCUSE!

10 Aug

 

Books 01Legal Research

 

If “ignorance of the law is no excuse” then knowing how to find official law that will decide the outcome of your case is critical to winning!

Fortunately, the “law of your case” is much simpler than you might imagine and easy to find! Most cases are won or lost on very few “laws”, perhaps a single statute and 3-4 appellate court decisions interpreting how that statute applies to the facts.

If you had to go to court 30 years ago, before personal computers and the internet, you’d have to dig through the dismally dry and boring stacks of thousands of look-alike books in a law library (if you could find one nearby). Back then, winning a lawsuit required litigants to spend hour-upon-hour turning dusty pages, pulling down piles of books to spread on the library table next to their yellow pad in what was often a fruitless search for the legal support their arguments needed.

All that has changed, thanks to the internet and competition between legal research sites that is driving the price down to a reasonable level where pretty much anyone who needs to do on-line legal research can afford it.

But, will you know how?

My course materials on legal research include videos showing actual screen-shots of on-line searches so an average 8th grader with reasonable computer skills will be able to find constitutional provisions, statutes, code, and appellate court opinions to support pretty much any legal argument you can think of.

These days it’s sooo easy to do legal research on-line … an average 8th grader cando it!

Instead of digging through thousands of books differing only by the numbers printed on their impressively formidable spines, you can log-on any of the growing number of competent legal databases and, with the flick of a few keyboard fingers find thousands of cases that deal with the issues of your case in seconds!Learn from Jurisdictionary step-by-step

Google® can get you started … for free!

But, don’t rely on Google® as the final authority. Google® will provide a good start in most cases, but before you go to court to argue how the appellate opinion you found is the final say-so, you need to dig deeper.

My affordable, official, 24-hour step-by-step Jurisdictionary “How to Win in Court”self-help course explains legal research with examples you can try out for yourself. Once you finish the course you’ll know how to find appellate decisions that favor your cause … and you’ll know how to cite them to the court in proper format. You’ll know how to tell the judge why you should win by citing authorities the judge is required by law to obey: court rules, cases, constitutional provisions, statutes and codes.

Clever argument is not enough.

You cannot win without finding and citing the legal authorities that control judges.

Those who don’t know how to find and cite legal authority cannot control judges nor win on appeal so they lose … needlessly!

In the heat of your lawsuit battles, you can be certain the other side will cite legal authorities favoring his case.

It’s essential to winning!

You must do the same thing … if you want to win.

www.Jurisdictionary.com

Affordable 24-hour Step-by-Step Self-Help Course Includes:

5-hour video CD simplifies the process of litigation
2 audio CDs present practical tactics and procedures
15 in-depth tutorials on a 4th CD lay out the basics
Free EasyGuide to the Rules of Court
Instant On-Line Access while CDs are in the Mail
Still Only $249 … plus $7.50 Priority Mail Shipping & Handling
Save legal fees! Control judges!
Defeat crooked lawyers!

Ask anyone who has our course … “Jurisdictionary Works!”

 

Preparing for Hearings or Trial

10 Aug

 

Preparing for Hearings or Trial

Preparation is everything!

Whether you’re training for the Olympics or trying to win a case in court, winners know they must exercise, prepare themselves, and be ready for the competition.

If you do things the way I teach in my affordable,official, 24-hour step-by-step Jurisdictionary“How to Win in Court” self-help course, you may not have to go to trial. Most court cases can be won before trial, if you follow a certain method of proceeding.

But! You will in all likelihood be required to prepare for and attend a few hearings and, if you don’t master what I teach in my course, you will probably have to prepare for and enter the trial arena for a final judgment.

Either way, you must prepare.

The best preparation begins when the case begins (whether you’re a plaintiff or defendant). Here is when you memorize the “pleadings” (i.e., the allegations of the plaintiff’s Complaint, the defendant’s Answer and Affirmative Defenses, and the plaintiff’s Reply to the defendant’s Affirmative Defenses.

These are the most important documents in any case! The allegations in these initial documents tell us what the parties intend to prove, indeed what they mustprove by the greater weight of admissible evidence in order to win.

Too many people worry about too many things that have nothing whatever to do with the allegations contained in the pleadings.

Everything begins and ends with the allegations contained in the initial pleadings.

If your case goes to trial, it will those allegations in your pleadings that you’ll be struggling to prove by bringing in MORE evidence in favor of your allegations than your opponent has in support of his.

Whether you’re at a hearing or a full-blown jury trial, the only facts that matter are those alleged by the pleadings. Other facts may be brought in by witnesses, documents, or tangible exhibits – but the only facts necessary are those that tend to prove or disprove the allegations of the pleadings. Everthing else is a waste of time and only results in muddying the waters and giving your opponent more opportunities to confuse the judge and discredit you!Learn from Jurisdictionary step-by-step

Now is the time to list the witnesses, documents, and tangible things you have (or can get with your 5 discovery tools explained in my course) that will tend to prove your allegations are true.

Now is the time to list the witnesses, documents, and tangible things you have (or can get with your 5 discovery tools explained in my course) that will tend to dis-prove the allegations of your opponent’s pleadings.

Now is the time to move the court to take judicial notice of all facts for which the court can be forced to take judicial notice.

Now is the time to move the court to take judicial notice of all laws that apply to the facts of the case.

Now is the time to file motions in limine to prevent your opponent from bringing in extraneous or prejudicial facts at trial.

Now is the time to file carefully-researched memoranda in support of your motions and overall legal position.

Now is the time to line up your witnesses, get affidavits of their testimony before you take their depositions, and then take their depositions so you can be assured their testimony at evidentiary hearings or trial will be what your witnesses “told” you it would be.

Now is the time to take depositions of your opponent’s witnesses, so you can undermine them and show they do not have first-hand knowledge of the facts your opponent intends to use them to present, or that they are biased, or that they are convicted felons or otherwise unreliable.

Now is the time to order my affordable, official, 24-hour step-by-step Jurisdictionary “How to Win in Court” self-help course and begin to study it carefully so you don’t find yourself behind the 8-ball when it comes time for hearingsor trial.

If you do things my way, you may not have to go to trial at all.

 

Using On-Line Legal Research

10 Aug

Find the Law that Controls the Judge!

You cannot win without controlling judges.

You cannot control judges unless you research and cite controlling “legal authority” for every point you seek to make on the court’s record!

The judge is not the authority!

You must make it crystal clear on the court’s record that the judge will be reversed on appeal if he rules against you.

Otherwise, a judge is free to ignore everything you say and rule any way he pleases in spite of what the law and facts may prove to the contrary … because he knows he will not be reversed on appeal.

The appeal process will not give you another bite at the proverbial apple. Either you make your points with the trial judge by researching and properly citing controlling“legal authority”, or you run the risk of losing your case and being stuck with the judge’s unjust decision forever!

Don’t believe me?

Go tell a judge what your personal opinions are about the law and how you think he should rule in your case, and see how far it gets you!

The only opinions that count in court are the written opinions of appellate court justices who stand in judgment of trial level judges and have power to reverse them if they disagree with appellate decisions in any way!

Your opinions (no matter how clever or persuasive) count for nothing in court.

You must clearly show the judge on the record by citing official legal authorities from appellate decisions, exactly what will happen if the judges rules against you!

Controlling judges is what wins lawsuits!

You control judges by making clear on the record what higher level appellate courts have ruled in the past, what opinions those higher courts have passed down, and why the higher courts will reverse the trial judge’s orders if he rules contrary to what the appellate courts require.

You must tell the judge why you should win – by citing official legal authorities the judge is required to obey:

  • court rules,
  • constitutional provisions,
  • statutes,
  • codes, and
  • most importantly the opinions of higher courts that clarify what those rules, constitutional provisions, statutes, and codes really mean!

What you think these things mean doesn’t count! Trust me!

How you choose to read and interpret those things doesn’t count.Learn from Jurisdictionary step-by-step

The only thing that counts is how the controlling appellate courts read and interpret them, and what they say those things mean in regard to the facts of your case.

The other side will cite legal authorities for their case.

You must do the same … if you want to win.

If you’ve wandered through a law library in search of legal authority, you were probably amazed to find crowded shelves stuffed with volumes of similar-looking books differing only by the mysterious numbers printed on their spines. Books that give no hint which one might hide the key to unlock the judge’s favor in your case.

In a well-stocked law library there are thousands of books.

You cannot possibly read them all to find what you seek, and even the indexes, appendices, and annotations are a complex nightmare that requires years of experience to master.

On the other hand, on-line legal research is easy.

We show you how in our course.

Learn how to use on-line legal research and how to cite case-winning legal authority with the affordable, official, step-by-step 24-hour Jurisdictionary self-help course!

So easy an 8th grader can do it!

 

Good Legal Writing

30 Jul

What is good legal writing?

I want you to think about this question … hard and long!

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What is your goal?

  • Impress the judge?
  • Confuse the opponent?
  • Or, win the case?

Everything we do in life has in one sense or another a particular goal. Some things we do are automatic, like breathing, yet there is always a goal. In business, the goal is to provide a benefit to others. In sports, the goal is to perform to the highest of our athletic ability. In law, the goal is to make a winning record in writing!

Many lawyers and most pro se litigants miss this point … they get sidetracked with unimportant distractions!

Every word spoken in a courtroom or written on paper filed with the clerk or served on the other side must aim toward this specific goal.

All words that aren’t aimed at making a winning record must go!

Since 1997 when Jurisdictionary began, people have sent documents for review. In all but a few the punch, power, and persuasive effect could be improved by eliminating 90% of the words and by keeping only those aimed at making a winning record.

Most of what came for review read more like the writer was trying to tell a story, rather than trying to make a winning court record of relevant facts and controlling law!

Learn from Jurisdictionary step-by-stepLegal writing is NOT story-telling!

Any fact that’s not “relevant” and any law that’s not “controlling” should be eliminated.

I rebuilt a few car engines in my youth. I removed bolts, nuts, gaskets, and pins. I placed the removed parts on a sheet of cardboard on the floor of my garage. All was arranged neatlyin order. When the time came to put the engine back together, every part had a place, and that’s where I put each part … in its place!

A place for every part. Every part in its place.

I didn’t add any parts! I didn’t leave any parts out!

That’s good legal writing!

Every word has a purpose … to make your winning record.

More years ago than I like to remember, I worked as a reporter for the Tampa Times newspaper. My city editor was ruthless with my writing. I learned from him. Since being admitted to the bar in 1986, I’ve applied what he taught me. “Say what needs to be said then stop!

What was true for newspaper writing is doubly true for legal writing.

Say what needs to be said and stop!

Write like you were “speaking” to an 8th grader. You aren’t Jimmy Buffet. You don’t need a “novelist’s eye” or a “bartender’s ear”. You aren’t telling a story! You’re assembling essential parts of a powerful engine.

That’s what good legal writing does! Each part has a specific purpose.

What I teach will empower your legal paperwork and give you the competitive edge you need to win!

www.Jurisdictionary.com

 

The Pro Se Problem

30 Jul

Why Pro Se Litigants Have a Hard Time.

Many pro se people are winning.

Unfortunately, a great number who should be winning are losing … needlessly!

Going to court without a lawyer is a growing phenomenon. Whether it’s the high cost of legal fees or growing distrust of lawyers in general, the trend is for more people to fightwithout lawyers

The American Bar Association reports nearly 1/2 of all pro sefolks believe lawyers care more about their own self-interest than their client’s rights.

If you go by calls and emails Jurisdictionary receives, there’s good reason for this! Lawyers who bail at the last minute. Lawyers who don’t know what they’re doing. And, worst of all, lawyers wishing to curry favor with judges, afraid to stand up to the buffalo in the black robe and demand their clients’ rights by making timely objections and threatening appeal.

60% of pro se people say they can’t afford a lawyer.

20% say they simply don’t want to spend the money.

Nearly ½ of all court proceedings in the U.S. involve at least one pro se party … and too many of them are losing all because they don’t yet know the “rules of the game” or how to play to win!

Good people who should be winning are losing needlessly simply because they were never taught what it takes to win!

Ever ask yourself, “Why?”

Ever wonder if there might be a sinister reason nothing about law is taught to our children in schools supported by our tax dollars?

Who benefits from your legal ignorance?

You have a Constitutional right to justice.

You have a Constitutional right to go to court and win pro se!

Your rights were paid for by the blood of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for you!

BUT, THE KEYS TO JUSTICE HAVE BEEN HIDDEN FROM YOU – UNTIL NOW!

Pro se people too often do not get justice.Learn from Jurisdictionary step-by-step

Why?

We at Jurisdictionary receive emails every day complaining there’s a judicial “conspiracy” against pro se litigants.

Let’s examine facts:

  1. Most pro se people know nothing about the official Rules of Evidence that control the judge and all parties and their lawyers.
  2. Most pro se people know nothing about the official Rules of Procedure that control the judge and all parties and their lawyers.
  3. Most pro se people have no idea what “due process” really is.
  4. Most pro se people can’t recognize the opposing lawyer’s dirty tricks.
  5. Most pro se people assume what “admissible evidence” is and don’t know what stuff isn’t.
  6. Most pro se people draft their pleadings and motions incorrectly – usually with far too many words!
  7. Most pro se people don’t know why it’s vital to write proposed orders for the judge to sign.
  8. Most pro se people don’t know why, when, or how to make effective objections in court.
  9. Most pro se people don’t understand what facts are critical to winning a case and what facts are of no consequence.
  10. Most pro se people muddy the legal waters with court-confusing insignificance.
  11. Most pro se people don’t know how to find and cite controlling appellate opinions in support of their motions.
  12. Most pro se people don’t arrange in advance of every proceeding to have a court stenographer present, so they can control the judge.
  13. Most pro se people waste valuable court time with non-essentials, fail to appreciate the needs of others who have other problems to bring before the court and, as a consequence, tend to make judges dread pro se cases and hate pro se people.

BUT!

Pro se people who know what I explain so simply in my affordable, official, 24-hour step-by-step Jurisdictionary “How to Win in Court” self-help course winning consistently and getting compliments from judges and even opposing lawyers.

It’s so easy to learn how to do things the right way!

If you and friends were playing a game of basketball, and some bystander wanted to play but didn’t know the rules … how would you feel when he or she kept fouling and arguing he or she has a right to do as he or she pleases because she doesn’t know the rules?

Put yourself in the judges’ robes!

Many years ago, after winning a motion, an older judge asked me to stay behind after the parties left. He took me aside and said simply: “I want you to know that the case before yours today was to protect a little girl who’s grandfather thinks it’s fun to extinguish cigars on her legs.” I knew what he wanted me to know, and I never forgot. Other people’s case are serious, too.

Pro se people who know what I explain in my affordable, official, 24-hour step-by-step Jurisdictionary “How to Win in Court” self-help course don’t waste the court’s time and get justice by knowing the rules and how to use them tactically to control the judge and opposing counsel.

Winners learn the rules and how to use them!

If you want to win, get my affordable, official, 24-hour step-by-step Jurisdictionary “How to Win in Court” self-help course.

www.Jurisdictionary.com

 

The Pro Se Problem

08 Feb

( From “How to Win in Court” Course )
Click or Call 866-LAW-EASY Toll Free!

Why Pro Se Litigants Have a Hard Time.

Many pro se people are winning.

Unfortunately, a great number who should be winning are losing … needlessly!

Going to court without a lawyer is a growing phenomenon. Whether it’s the high cost of legal fees or growing distrust of lawyers in general, the trend is for more people to fightwithout lawyers

The American Bar Association reports nearly 1/2 of all pro se folks believe lawyers care more about their own self-interest than their client’s rights.

If you go by calls and emails Jurisdictionary receives, there’s good reason for this! Lawyers who bail at the last minute. Lawyers who don’t know what they’re doing. And, worst of all, lawyers wishing to curry favor with judges, afraid to stand up to the buffalo in the black robe and demand their clients’ rights by making timely objections and threatening appeal.

60% of pro se people say they can’t afford a lawyer.

20% say they simply don’t want to spend the money.

Nearly ½ of all court proceedings in the U.S. involve at least one pro se party … and too many of them are losing all because they don’t yet know the “rules of the game” or how to play to win!

Good people who should be winning are losing needlessly simply because they were never taught what it takes to win!

Ever ask yourself, “Why?”

Ever wonder if there might be a sinister reason nothing about law is taught to our children in schools supported by our tax dollars?

Who benefits from your legal ignorance?

You have a Constitutional right to justice.

You have a Constitutional right to go to court and win pro se!

Your rights were paid for by the blood of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for you!

BUT, THE KEYS TO JUSTICE HAVE BEEN HIDDEN FROM YOU – UNTIL NOW!

Pro se people too often do not get justice.Learn from Jurisdictionary step-by-step

Why?

We at Jurisdictionary receive emails every day complaining there’s a judicial “conspiracy” against pro se litigants.

Let’s examine facts:

  1. Most pro se people know nothing about the official Rules of Evidence that control the judge and all parties and their lawyers.
  2. Most pro se people know nothing about the official Rules of Procedure that control the judge and all parties and their lawyers.
  3. Most pro se people have no idea what “due process” really is.
  4. Most pro se people can’t recognize the opposing lawyer’s dirty tricks.
  5. Most pro se people assume what “admissible evidence” is and don’t know what stuff isn’t.
  6. Most pro se people draft their pleadings and motions incorrectly – usually with far too many words!
  7. Most pro se people don’t know why it’s vital to write proposed orders for the judge to sign.
  8. Most pro se people don’t know why, when, or how to make effective objections in court.
  9. Most pro se people don’t understand what facts are critical to winning a case and what facts are of no consequence.
  10. Most pro se people muddy the legal waters with court-confusing insignificance.
  11. Most pro se people don’t know how to find and cite controlling appellate opinions in support of their motions.
  12. Most pro se people don’t arrange in advance of every proceeding to have a court stenographer present, so they can control the judge.
  13. Most pro se people waste valuable court time with non-essentials, fail to appreciate the needs of others who have other problems to bring before the court and, as a consequence, tend to make judges dread pro se cases and hate pro se people.

BUT!

Pro se people who know what I explain so simply in my affordable, official, 24-hour step-by-step Jurisdictionary “How to Win in Court” self-help course winning consistently and getting compliments from judges and even opposing lawyers.

It’s so easy to learn how to do things the right way!

If you and friends were playing a game of basketball, and some bystander wanted to play but didn’t know the rules … how would you feel when he or she kept fouling and arguing he or she has a right to do as he or she pleases because she doesn’t know the rules?

Put yourself in the judges’ robes!

Many years ago, after winning a motion, an older judge asked me to stay behind after the parties left. He took me aside and said simply: “I want you to know that the case before yours today was to protect a little girl who’s grandfather thinks it’s fun to extinguish cigars on her legs.” I knew what he wanted me to know, and I never forgot. Other people’s case are serious, too.

Pro se people who know what I explain in my affordable, official, 24-hour step-by-step Jurisdictionary “How to Win in Court” self-help course don’t waste the court’s time and get justice by knowing the rules and how to use them tactically to control the judge and opposing counsel.

Winners learn the rules and how to use them!

If you want to win, get my affordable, official, 24-hour step-by-step Jurisdictionary “How to Win in Court” self-help course.

www.Jurisdictionary.com

 

Affordable 24-hour Step-by-Step Self-Help Course Includes:

5-hour video CD simplifies the process of litigation
2 audio CDs present practical tactics and procedures
15 in-depth tutorials on a 4th CD lay out the basics
Free EasyGuide to the Rules of Court
Instant On-Line Access while CDs are in the Mail
Still Only $249 … plus $7.50 Priority Mail Shipping & Handling
Save legal fees! Control judges!
Defeat crooked lawyers!

www.Jurisdictionary.com

Ask anyone who has our course … “Jurisdictionary Works!”

Call Toll Free for details: 866-Law-Easy

 

How to Subpoena Witnesses and/or Things in Traffic Court

06 Feb

You can use the court’s subpoena power in a traffic ticket trial or criminal court case where you represent yourself. It is the way to force things or people to show up. The way to do it is to get the form, get the court clerk to sign it, and then get it served properly. Continue reading