Getting Ready for a General Sessions Civil Court Case

Before going to Court, the plaintiff must file and get the warrant to the defendant. Then, the plaintiff and the defendant can get ready to go to court. When the case is filed, the General Sessions Court Clerk's office will schedule an initial setting. The initial setting is the first court date and time when the case will be heard. Both the Plaintiff and the Defendant need to be present at the initial setting. The date and time of the initial court setting of the case will be written on the civil warrant, or you can check with the General Sessions Court Clerk's office to confirm or make sure that you have the date of the initial court setting. To get ready for a General Sessions Civil Case the parties may use "discovery". Discovery is done before the trial. It asks the other side to turn over papers, to answer questions, or to go to a deposition. A deposition is answering questions under oath in front of a court reporter. If a party wants discovery, that party must ask for the court's approval, or okay. They do this by filing a "motion for discovery" with the court. The motion explains why the discovery is needed by the party who wants it. Each party can also use a "subpoena". A subpoena asks the court to make a witness come to court. A subpoena can also be used to ask a party to bring papers about the lawsuit to court. You can also use a subpoena to ask the court to make someone bring papers to court to be used during the trial. Here are some helpful tips when going to court for a General Sessions Civil Case. Dress right for court. Dress as if you are going to a job interview. Do not wear shorts, tank tops, crop tops, or t-shirts with writing on them. Do not wear short skirts or anything that shows your undergarments. Always get to court early. Many times there are lines to get into the courthouse because of security checks. Do not bring any knives, guns, or other weapons to the courthouse. The security checkpoint will not let you in, or they will take the weapons that you bring. Make sure you know how to get to the courtroom where your case will be. Courthouses have many different courtrooms and many different floors, and often it may take some time to find where you are going. If possible, do not bring your children to court. Find someone to keep them for the whole day, because you may be in court for some or all of the day. Never bring any food to the courtroom. Turn off your cell phone before entering the courtroom. Be ready when you get to the courtroom. Have all of your papers and other evidence in order. Please make extra copies of all papers for the other side and for the judge. Always be polite to everyone who works in the courthouse. Be polite to all the people on the other side of your case, even if you disagree with them. Do not swear in court. There are no juries in General Sessions Civil Court. In General Sessions Civil Court the judge hears all of the evidence and decides the case. This is called "a bench trial". The judge uses the facts that are presented by each side to make his or her decision. The judge also uses what the law is for that kind of case. At the end of the trial the judge will usually say which side has won the case. Sometimes the judge may need more time to check the law and make a decision. When this happens the judge will say that he or she is taking the case under advisement. The judge's decision will be mailed to both sides later. The plaintiff has the burden of proof in most General Sessions Civil Cases. This means more than half of the evidence must show the plaintiff should win. More than half of the evidence is called "a preponderance of the evidence". The plaintiff must prove that the defendant broke or violated the law. This is called "liability". In a contract case, for example, the plaintiff cannot win unless he or she shows the court that the defendant broke or violated the contract terms. This means the defendant is "liable" or legally responsible for breaking the contract. A plaintiff must prove that what the defendant did caused the plaintiff "damages". In a contract case this usually means money damages. The plaintiff's proof must show how much money the defendant should pay. It should be enough to pay the plaintiff for his or her losses. In a landlord-renter case, the damages usually are for backrent, or it may be for damage done to the house or apartment that has been rented. The plaintiff may also ask that the defendant move out of the rental property. Here are some important rules of evidence that come up in General Sessions Civil Court trials. Relevance: testimony must be about the issues the court is deciding. The testimony should not be about anything else. In a contract case, for example, the evidence should be about the contract -- what each side said it would do, what each side did, and how the contract was broken. The testimony should show the damages caused by the broken contract. These kinds of questions are relevant to contract cases. Hearsay: no one can use hearsay evidence. Hearsay means you did not see the evidence for yourself, you are just saying what you heard from someone else. In a case between a landlord and a renter, for example, the plaintiff cannot testify about what a neighbor said the defendant did. If the defendant objects, the judge can refuse to allow the testimony about what the neighbor said the defendant did. The plaintiff may call the neighbor to testify as a witness. In that case, if the neighbor comes as a witness, the neighbor can testify about what he or she saw the defendant do, or what the defendant said to the neighbor. Personal knowledge, lay opinion, and expert testimony: In some cases, a party can testify based on what he or she knows or has learned because of special training. In a case between a landlord and a renter, for example, the plaintiff can testify about damage done to a house or apartment by the defendant. But the damage might be to a fuse box and the electrical system. A licensed electrician can testify about that damage as an expert. The electrician might explain the damage, how to fix it, and what the repairs will cost. An expert who understands the problem can explain it to the judge. Best evidence: bring the original papers to court. This is the best evidence. In a case between a landlord and a renter, for example, the original lease with the original signatures of the landlord and the renter is the best evidence. Objections: a plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit may object to some evidence. You can object to hearsay testimony, for example. You can object to testimony that is not relevant or not about the case. Make the objection if you believe the testimony is hearsay or is not relevant. If no one objects, the judge may not stop the testimony. If someone does make an objection, the judge will consider the objection and make a ruling about whether the evidence may come in or whether it will be kept out. Pre-trial motions: There may be something you want the judge to know before the trial starts. To do this you can make a motion to the judge before the trial starts. For example, when the first date for trial is set, either party can ask for another date by making a "motion for a continuance". It is up to the judge if the motion for continuance, or for a new trial date, is approved or not. The defendant may also make a motion to dismiss a case. In a case between a landlord and a renter, for example, the defendant renter knows the landlord did not bring the lease to court. The renter wants the judge to rule on this lack of evidence before the trial starts. The renter needs to make a motion asking the judge to dismiss the case, or the renter can ask for the case to be put off until the landlord brings the lease to court. Before the judge issues an order, the plaintiff can ask the judge to dismiss without prejudice. Without prejudice means the plaintiff can file the same lawsuit again later. Opening Statement: After any motions, the plaintiff and defendant can make opening statements. This means that each side can tell the judge why they think they should win. It is based on the facts in the case. The plaintiff goes first and makes the first opening statement. The plaintiff says what evidence they will use to prove their case. They say how they want to court to rule. The defendant goes next, and makes the second opening statement. The defendant says why the plaintiff is wrong. The defendant says what facts show that they are right and that the plaintiff is wrong. Direct Examination: Asking your witness questions is called "direct examination". The questions should not be the kind you can just answer "yes" or "no". Instead, the questions should not hint at what the answer is. Those questions are called "leading questions". In a case between a landlord and a renter, for example, a witness may be asked "what day did the lease begin". It is not okay to ask "isn't it true that the lease began on January 3rd?" This question can be answered yes or no, and it could be seen as a leading question. Cross Examination: Cross examination is when you question a witness after the other side questions them. It is okay to ask leading questions in a cross examination. These are questions that can be answered by a yes or a no. In a case between a landlord and a renter, for example, in cross-examination you can ask "Did the lease begin on January 3rd?" or "The lease began on January 3rd, didn't it?" These questions on cross-examination can be answered "yes" or "no". Closing argument: After all of the testimony and evidence is presented to the judge, each side will be given the opportunity to make a closing argument. During the closing argument, each side will have the opportunity to explain why the facts and the law should result in a ruling in their favor. In a case between a landlord and a renter, for example, the plaintiff or landlord, during closing argument, can explain how they proved that the defendant, or renter, did not pay the rent for several months. The plaintiff can explain why the defendant should be evicted and pay the past due rent. The plaintiff can only make this argument if the evidence presented proved this to the judge. Entry of Judgment: Most if the time the judge will say who won right after the trial is over. The judge may say the plaintiff won. If the plaintiff won, the judge will say how much money the defendant must pay the plaintiff. If the defendant wins, the judge may dismiss the case. Most of the time, the side that loses has to pay the court costs. So, if the plaintiff wins, the defendant will be told to pay the plaintiff's court costs. But if the defendant wins, they do not have to pay, and the plaintiff loses the money they paid to file the lawsuit. What the court decides is called the "judgment". It is written on the civil warrant or a paper called the final judgment. The judge will sign and date the judgment. This ends the case. The side that loses a General Sessions Court Case can file an appeal. An appeal lets a different judge hear the case. The appeal must be filed within ten days after the judge decides the case. It is filed with the general sessions court clerk. Then there is a new trial before a circuit court judge. Circuit courts use the rules of civil procedure. Both sides should learn these rules before the trial on the appeal.