Archive for the ‘U.S. Courts’ Category
How to Make Offers of Proof
31
May
| From the Jurisdictionary Evidence Tutorial …
If you begin to offer evidence and, before you can get it before the court, the other side objects and the court sustains the objection, you must move the court to allow you to make clear on the record what the evidence was. This is called an offer of proof. If you don’t get your evidence in and don’t offer the proof, you’ll have nothing to appeal if the court rules against you. You won’t be able to win on appeal, because the record for the appellate court to review will not show what the evidence would have been! Therefore, when your attempt to get evidence in is prevented by the court’s sustaining the other side’s objection, be sure to make an offer of proof stating what the evidence would have been and what you intended to prove by it. Then, if an appeal must be taken to the higher court on the basis that you were not allowed to get the evidence in, you’ll have a record to show what the evidence was (or would have been) and be able to argue that “but for” the excluded evidence you would have won … or, at least, that you should be given another chance on remand to the trial court with instructions from the appellate court! In jury trials, offers of proof should be made outside the hearing of the jury. In some cases an offer of proof may be made at the bench, but if you make your offer of proof at the bench, make certain the court reporter comes over to the bench along with his or her recording device to take down every word you, the judge, and other side say! No record = no appeal possible. No appeal possible = judge free to rule as he chooses! Not good.
To learn more about offers of proof, evidence, motions, hearings, pleadings, witness testimony, and other essential know-how you must have to win in court (with or without a lawyer), discover the easy-to-learn methods I teach in my affordable step-by-step official Jurisdictionary self-help course). I’ve been working 25 years as a case-winning lawyer. Accept no substitutes!
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What Were/Are We Fighting For ?
30
May
| What are we asked to remember on Memorial Day?
I have a T-shirt that says, “Freedom is not Free!” It’s true! But! Can blood alone purchase liberty for us? Does war promote peace by war alone? Surely those who gave their lives (or arms and legs and eyes and more) in the struggle of violence to overcome all enemies of individual rights should be remembered today! Had those we honor today not valiantly opposed others hell-bent on ruling the world with “another vision”, we’d be living in an entirely different world … probably without any of the liberties you and I enjoy today. But! What were/are we fighting for if it is not for a system of law-and-order that protects the innocent and honors the rights of us “individuals”versus a so-called “public policy” that twists Justice to favor the demands of money and corrupt political influence? Surely we are not so naive as to believe we can enjoy the blessings of liberty without a system of law-and-order that protects us all … right down to “the least of these”, as Jesus said it long ago! The “least of these” was His way of asking us to care for those who have no money or political influence. I mention “the least of these” not in a “religious sense”, but as a mind-jolter for us to remember why those killed and wounded fought and why some continue to fight! It was not to preserve our flag, but for what our flag is supposed to stand for! It was not to overcome an armed foe, but to protect us from a system of government rule that would ignore “due process and the Rule of Law”. It was not to defeat tyranny, but to protect a nation of ideas and legal principles where The People come first! Oh, my dear friends. You’ve been so faithful to us these past 14 years since we launched Jurisdictionary. My words can never tell how much we appreciate your encouraging calls and emails when the small effort we’ve made for you has turned to your advantage in your warfare of lawsuits and other courtroom battles where Liberty ultimately must be preserved by LAW. Pray the Great Architect of this Universe protect those in harm’s way for our sakes … but pray, too, for that way of life in which each of you have great power to demand Justice in our courts, to overcome money and political influence by a method given to you by those who suffered and died for you, to perpetuate a wonderful way of life for your children and future generations threatened by their own lack of knowledge about their power in courthouses that must be made to work hand-in-hand with the power of our military might! My wife Kathryn and I and our entire family wish you and yours the very most pleasant Memorial Day this year and ask only that youremember what we are fighting for and that blood alone cannot preserve our Liberties. I call on each of you to teach as many as you can that INK wisely used must honor the spilled BLOOD! Please, dear friends. Consider what I say to you today! Without the wise use of words, ideas, rules of justice, and law that protects the innocent, vast oceans of blood can never secure for us a world of peace, prosperity, and personal liberty. I call on YOU to urge everyone to learn what the ones we honor today freely gave their sacrifice to protect! Learn how to use your own ink to truly honor the blood they spilled for you and me! Learn the principles and practices of Justice! Demand that your leaders honor the maxims of our traditional principles of common law! Demand that your judges and lawyers obey the law that makes your Liberty possible! And, please don’t imagine for a moment that sending out thousands of emails or parading in the streets will save the system of law that must in the long run protect us all. YOU MUST LEARN THE RULES OF JUSTICE IF THEY ARE TO BE PROTECTED FROM THE RICH AND POWERFUL WHO WISH TO TWIST THOSE RULES FOR THEIR OWN GAIN ! Only by getting involved in the honorable fight with words can we hope to protect the peace and secure Liberty and Justice for ALL ! Politics has its place … but it is not enough! Military force has its place … but it is not enough! YOU HAVE POWER TO COMMAND GOVERNMENT BY USE OF OUR COURT SYSTEM! Learn how to use YOUR power in the fight for truth! You have power to control your neighbors, big business, even the ever-increasing annoyance of splinter groups who whine and complain about non-essentials at the expense of the rest of us rank-and-file Americans! Remember and honor those who gave so much so you could enjoy this day in peace and liberty. But! Do not forget what they fought for and continue to fight for on foreign soil and here at home! Ink and Blood. Blood and Ink. Our peace cannot endure without them both. If you are not called this day to the field of honor, to be in harm’s way for the sake of others, then do your part by learning how to USE YOUR INK TO FIGHT FOR JUSTICE! Together, with wisdom and mercy on our side, we can keep the Lamp burning as long as the earth stands! And, who knows? Perhaps future generations will look back to what YOU did to make the world safer for them! … Dr. Frederick D. Graves, JD ======================= |
You will lose your case if you don’t cite “legal authority!”
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 judge rules against you!
This is how smart lawyers win in court.
Stupid lawyers are afraid of judges, afraid to threaten appeal, so they lose … routinely!
Clever argument is not enough.
Knowing the law is not enough.
Even having all the evidence is not enough!
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.
Read the testimonials ⇒
You must provide citations to official legal authority in motions, memoranda, objections, and verbal arguments at hearings and at trial (if you don’t win before trial using the easy-to-learn methods we teach in my affordable step-by-step official Jurisdictionary course).
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 they mean doesn’t count!
Trust me! I’ve been at this for 25 years!
How you choose to read and interpret the law doesn’t count a bit … not even a tiny bit!
The only thing that counts is how the appellate courts read and interpret the law, and what they say the law means 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 to do it in our official course.
Learn how to use on-line legal research and how to cite case-winning legal authority in my affordable step-by-step 24-hour official Jurisdictionary self-help course!
Know how to control the judge – or you will lose!
These “Tips & Tactics” newsletters are only the very tip of the iceberg of lawsuit knowledge you need to win. If you don’t already have my 24-hour step-by-step self-help course, go to my website and order now!
Learn how to research and cite … so you can WIN!
Dr. Frederick David Graves, JD
Using The Internet For A Dual Attack Pro-Se Strategy
28
May
By: Rich Bergeron (www.suckssite.com, www.xyiencesucks.com)
You’re a fool in the judge’s eyes in most courtrooms before you even open your mouth if you don’t pay good money for the advice of a lawyer. If you represent yourself, you’re not paying into the system. To judges and opposing lawyers your attempts are considered laughable or hopeless. In many cases, if you go pro-se, it is almost a foregone conclusion that you’re fighting a lost cause. You have to go above and beyond the traditional approach to win in this climate.
Fortunately, there is an equalizer. It’s called the Internet. There are two important ways you can use the World Wide Web to win your legal scuffles.
First, you can use the Internet to put yourself through a rigorous, informal law school. There are law libraries available online and vast free resources. It’s all about how much time you want to spend on learning the nuances of the legal process. You will have to at least be proficient at crafting pleadings and understanding “courtspeak.” Being a Law & Order nut only goes so far in a real courtroom in front of a real judge. You may have to go as far as an appeal, which is almost a scientific process. Some things are beautiful in their complication. The law is complicated in a convoluted way, and it’s ugly and vicious to those who don’t know how to use it to their advantage. Educate yourself to the best of your ability on the legal process using the Internet to gain free access to valuable information and guidelines.
Register for a PACER System (pacer.gov) password as soon as you can. This database of all kinds of official court records can be crucial for finding hidden secrets about the opposing client and law firm. You can also follow the day-to-day activity in your own case there. This is a lawyer’s tool the other side won’t expect you to know about. If you can master your ability to comb this database for dirt on your opposition, whatever investment you make in the site (they charge 8 cents a page for downloads) will be worth its weight in gold.
Now that you are ready for a sound legal attack, you can move to the second prong of the Internet strategy: the promotional process. You can publish your court documents on sites like www.docstoc.com and www.jdsupra.com and then embed them on a blog or a social site created specifically to publicize your plight. You can even register a domain for a “Sucks Site” like the guy who created www.Taubmansucks.com did. That site opened my eyes to the possibility that you can shine your own spotlight on your case without having to rely on the media or politicians in high places to champion your cause. I registered several of my own “Sucks Sites,” and you can, too. Just go to www.godaddy.com and pick a URL name that’s catchy and inclusive of your issue or opposition. You don’t even need any real Web design skills. There is a great cookie-cutter program on GoDaddy.com you can use for as little as $5 for three months (WebSite Tonight), or you could just forward the domain to a, Google Blogger account, a MySpace page, or a Facebook page.
If you go for a protest site, just remember to keep your content factual and designed to bring attention to the issues of your case. Don’t delve into scandalous accusations or rumors, and don’t use abusive language. Explain the issue in an informative and educated manner, and research the law that is supposed to be working in your favor. Just tell the truth and let your voice be heard. In all your postings, name your opposition in the title and descriptions. Use words like corruption and injustice in the tags if that’s what you are experiencing. Be creative and don’t stop building links and content to further your goals.
You may not even have to spend more than a few nickels and dimes to get your message out (GoDaddy offers .info domain registration for .89 cents a year) and learn to fight for yourself in court. Meanwhile, your opponents will have to spend thousands upon thousands in legal fees if they utilize an attorney or law firm. At this point in my own ongoing legal matters, winning at long last will not be as gratifying as knowing the other side has already lost. Use this same approach, and you’ll find the power of free speech and human ingenuity combined with the global reach of the Internet is immeasurable.
Your Deposition Power
28
May
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Types of Lawsuit Complaints
28
May
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The Pro Se Problem
25
May
Tips & Tactics
 This mid-week Tips & Tactics will give you some insight into problems pro se people are running into and also show that pro se people are winning … more and more!
Going to court without a lawyer is more common than you might imagine. There is a definite trend in the U.S. for more people to fight without lawyers. An American Bar Association study is reported to show nearly 1/2 of all pro se people 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 really know what they’re doing. And, worst of all, lawyers afraid to pull judges’ chains and demand justice, instead of currying favor with the bench. An estimated 60% of pro se people say they can’t afford a lawyer, and 20% of pro se people say they simply don’t want to spend the money. About half of all legal actions in the U.S. involve at least one pro separty. That’s a lot of good folks who need more case-winning lawsuit know-how … since none of us were taught anything at all about justice in public school. It’s a real problem, and it’s growing worse each day! Ever ask yourself, “Why weren’t we taught anything at all about justice in our tax-supported schools?” Who is keeping it all a secret? As I learned in my 25 years of practice as a lawyer, the answer is usually found when you “follow the money”! Who benefits from your legal ignorance? You have a Constitutional right to get justice. You have a Constitutional right to win pro se! BUT! Pro se people often do not get justice. Why? Really! Go with me here, please! We at Jurisdictionary hear from a lot of folks claiming there’s a judicial “conspiracy” against pro se litigants, but let’s examine a few facts:
BUT! Pro se people who know what I explain so simply in the official Jurisdictionary step-by-step 24-hour course are winning and even getting compliments from judges and even opposing lawyers … because they do it right!
Consider this: If you and friends were playing a game of basketball, and some bystander came along who wanted to play but didn’t know the rules … how would you feel when he or she kept fouling and then arguing about his or her right to do as he or she pleased? 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 this: “I want you to know that the case just before yours was about a little girl who’s grandfather thought it sport to extinguish cigars on the little girls legs.” I never forgot that moment. He wanted me to know just how serious other people’s cases are and how serious his job was. Not all judges are “against” pro se people “just because they are pro se”. Most of the judges I knew in my 25 years were good people who cared about other people and did their best to guarantee justiceaccording to the rules. Pro se parties who know the rules and how to use them the way my Jurisdictionary step-by-step 24-hour course makes so easy-to-understand don’t waste the court’s time and, as a result, get justice more often than not! Remember: It does no good whatsoever to complain. The difference between winners and losers is the fact that winners make an effort to learn the rules and how to use them to win! If you want to make it complicated and muddy the pond with all kinds of nutty arguments, you can do so, make the judge angry, and lose when your “evidence” isn’t admitted because it isn’t “admissible evidence”, etcetera. You can demand your Constitutional Rights, instead of learning about causes of action and their elements that win lawsuits, and you will lose. You can refuse to learn the rules of evidence and the rules of procedure and go to court with silly arguments and lose. But! If you want to win, get my affordable Jurisdictionary step-by-step 24-hour course now and master the case-winning strategies and tactics I used for 25 years as a case-winning lawyer in state and federal courts. There is only ONE “Official Jurisdictionary” course! If you’re paying a lawyer, know what your lawyer should be doing to earn his fee and win your case. If you don’t have a lawyer, know what you must do to force the judge do what’s right and prevent the lawyer on the other side from cheating. It’s that simple. My affordable, popular, official Jurisdictionary 24-hour step-by-step lawsuit course will show you how to write powerful pleadings, how to draft and argue motions, how to object in court, how to get admissible evidence into the record, how to prevent the other side from getting lies into the record, how to do legal research, how to compose your legal arguments, and much, much more.
You’ll learn how to avoid filing an answer by moving the court to dismiss or strike the complaint or require a confusing or poorly-worded complaint to be re-written. You’ll learn how to use effective discovery tools to force the other side to produce facts that may lead to admissible evidence. You’ll discover how to move the court and demand that the judge enforce your legal rights. In short, you’ll learn how to save money, maximize your winning power, and resolve conflicts peacefully and profitably … according to the rules! ________________________________________ Once you master the simple concepts I teach, you’ll be more powerful than most lawyers I met in 25 years as a licensed lawyer in state and federal courts as a licensed bar attorney! Of course you cannot learn all you need to know about what it takes to win by waiting for my Tips & Tactics each week. You need to learn the case-winning tactics in my affordable Jurisdictionary course that will show you what it takes to win, step-by-step in just 24-hours. Whether plaintiff or defendant, you cannot hope to win if you don’t know what my course teaches. These tips should convince you to order my complete course … whether you’re a plaintiff or defendant. If you don’t know what opportunities you have in court, you don’t have much of a chance of winning! Let me urge you to order my course today (if you don’t already have it) so you won’t make the common mistake of assuming you already know everything you need to win! Remember: Winners are people who know how the game is played to win — whether plaintiff or defendant. – – – – – – – The essential tools and elements are explained in the video you can watch right now by clicking the judge. Click the Judge to learn more. You won’t believe me, but most lawyers (and nearly all law school professors) don’t have a clue what it takes to win. Many law schools don’t teach “causes of action” or the elements necessary to prevail. It’s true! Many law schools don’t teach how to use your five (5) discovery tools or why you must be courageous and fight the judge and demand your right to get evidence in the record using your discovery tools. Many lawyers are afraid to upset judges, so they let things slide. They don’t object. They don’t “instruct” the judge on the law. They just lay back, take their hourly fee, and let their clients lose … and those who pay lawyers yet don’t know what Jurisdictionary teaches about winning are led to the slaughter by their own lawyer. Sad, but true! I know what it takes to win. I did this 25 years! My Jurisdictionary will show you how in just 24-hours, step-by-step! The Jurisdictionary Method wins lawsuits! Watch my video and see for yourself how easy it is to use knowledge, stealth, and wisdom to win in court! See what’s important, what’s not, and how to focus all your energy where it belongs: getting court orders! If you gain from watching my video, please forward this newsletter to ALL YOUR FRIENDS by hitting “Forward” on your email program now. Or use this link to send an email to all your friends. You probably know people who need to knock down judges and overcome crooked lawyers and their dishonest tricks. They will thank you for turning them on to this! Or, do both! Forward this newsletter AND send emails to friendsfighting in court who desperately need to know how to win! Most lawyers never learn what Jurisdictionary makes so easy-to-learn. People have been telling me since I started Jurisdictionary in 1997 that, “Your course should be required in first year law school.” But, of course, that’s not likely to happen, because whatJurisdictionary shows you isn’t politically correct! I teach you how to control judges, instead of bowing to them, I I teach you how to overcome crooked lawyers and their all-too-common sneaky tricks! Political correctness prevents justice too often! Winning lawsuits is a brutal axe fight! Read the testimonials in the right column ⇒ Thousands of people just like you are winning with my easy-to-learn 24-hour step-by-step course. Ask anyone who has my course.Everyone loves it! If you don’t know what my course teaches, you lose! End of story! Winners do what Jurisdictionary makes easy-to-learn and don’t wait until trial to get justice! Those who learn my affordable 24-hour step-by-step Jurisdictionary self-help course win … no matter how high the odds are stacked against them! Yes! Read the testimonials in the right column ⇒ Winners know how to fight to win! Losers believe internet fables. Losers get their legal education at the barbershop or on websites or expensive weekend seminars run by people who never practiced law, never went to law school, and don’t know mud from sand about rules or how to use them to control judges. Too many good folks believe mythological silver-bullet easy solutions to their legal problems and, as a result, are losing when they would be winning if they knew what I make so easy-to-learn in my Jurisdictionary course! The internet is infested with hare-brained schemes that sound too good to be true … and, like the old adage says, “If it sounds to good to be true, it probably isn’t.” Remember: The most dangerous falsehoods are ones we most want to believe! Why not learn from a real lawyer with nearly 25 years of case-winning experience? My course is not expensive! People who finish my course say an average 8th grader can learn it all in a single weekend. Please read the testimonials in the right column ⇒ If you have a lawyer, you will save thousands in legal fees by knowing what your lawyer should be doing, and at the same time you will maximize your chances for success by making certain your lawyer does what should be done, instead of taking you for a ride to the poorhouse – as happens to too many good people these days. If you don’t have a lawyer, you’ll know how to stop the opponent’s crooked tricks and control the judge! To learn more, go to: www.Jurisdictionary.com |
