for
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If you're in Anchorage, go to the free Hearing and Trial Preparation workshop!
Most courts will send you a scheduling order if your case involves a trial, or a notice of hearing if your case involves a hearing. Read this important document carefully. It will tell you when you need to be in court and what you must file before the trial or hearing. If you do not obey the order, the court could impose sanctions that might include not being allowed to call your witnesses.
If your case is in the Palmer Court, you must file the following form to schedule a trial date:
If you do not file the Memo to Set Trial, nothing will move forward. For more information, please call the Family Law Self-Help Center.
A written summary or statement explaining your position or a particular issue to the judge. The trial brief states the facts, evidence, and legal arguments that you plan to present at trial and typically includes citations to legal authority (such as statutes, case law or rules) to support your position.
In family law cases, a trial brief is required to be filed before the divorce or custody trial by the deadline stated in the scheduling order and you must serve the opposing party with a copy. The trial brief is like a road map that tells the judge before the trial what you want the court to order and what are the disagreements with the other side.
To provide more detail about what you want, you can attach the following forms depending on the type of case and issues:
Divorce cases
Divorce with children or Custody cases
A written summary explaining your position or a particular issue to the judge. The pre-hearing brief states the facts, evidence, and legal arguments that you plan to present at a hearing and typically includes citations to legal authority (such as statutes, case law or rules) to support your position.
In family law cases, a pre-hearing brief is not required to be filed unless the judge orders it. However, you may choose to file a pre-hearing brief before a hearing. It can be helpful to give the judge a written summary of your position, especially if the issues are complicated or you think you will have trouble speaking in an organized fashion when you are at the hearing. One consideration is that if you file a pre-hearing brief, you have to serve the other side with a copy so they will know your position before the hearing.
To provide more detail about your position, you may attach the following forms depending on the type of case and issues:
Divorce cases
Divorce with children or Custody cases
You can expect the judge will introduce the case. The plaintiff or moving party will present their case or issue first. This involves presenting an opening statement that explains the version of the facts best supporting their side of the case, how these facts will be proven, and how the law applies to the case. After that, the plaintiff has the opportunity to ask the witnesses questions called "direct examination." Then the other side can "cross-examine" the same witnesses. The plaintiff can then ask more questions called "re-direct," to try to fix any inaccurate information that arose from the cross-examination. The plaintiff repeats this cycle until all witnesses for their side are done. The plaintiff also can present exhibits to be admitted as evidence.
The defendant or responding party goes next and presents their opening case and repeats the cycle described above.
The parties may present rebuttal witnesses if needed to address issues raised by the previous witnesses. After the parties present all of their witnesses, they each give a closing statement, highlighting the version of the facts that best supports each side of the case, how these facts were proven during the testimony, how the law applies to the case and why the judge should rule for one side and not the other.
The judge will issue a decision after considering all the issues presented at trial and the testimony of the witnesses. The judge's decision may be made orally from the bench immediately after the trial or hearing, or issued in writing some time after the conclusion of the trial or hearing.
The purpose of making these statements is to give the judge a road map of your side of the case. In the opening statement, state specifically what you want and why you want it. For example in a custody case, you may ask for primary physical custody because it is in the children's best interest to live with you. You make your case by summarizing the evidence and explaining how this evidence supports your case. In the closing statement, you state again what you want and why you want it, summarize the evidence and explain how it supports your case PLUS state what is wrong with the other side's position.
Direct testimony is when you ask your witness open-ended questions and have them tell a story. For example, "Tell me what happened on August 15" or "Please tell the Court about my son's special needs" or "How do you think these needs are best met?"
When it is your turn to testify, tell an organized story. It is helpful to prepare your comments in advance by making an outline of the issues you would like to tell the judge. Do not plan to write out and read your testimony though. Tell the judge where you are going with your testimony. For example, "now I'm going to talk about the parenting plan I've proposed and why I think it's in our children's best interests."
The other side gets to ask leading questions. Examples are: "Isn't is true that you see my son crying every time you go to my ex's house?" or "Isn't it true that you sold some of our marital property without my permission?" These questions usually have "yes" or "no" answers. The intent of these questions is often to make you look bad so it is important to listen carefully and take notes to organize yourself to "fix" this on re-direct.
After you've been cross-examined, you should have a turn to explain to the court how the cross-examination testimony might have been misleading and what more there is to the story.
This is your opportunity to "fix" the cross-exam. Give your witness the chance to explain. For example, you might say "Please tell the Court what you have observed about my son's crying?"
Then your witness says, "He starts crying uncontrollably when I come over to drive him to visitation. For the first half of the drive he is sobbing, but by the time we get to the drop-off, he is totally silent and will not speak. He will not get out of the car by himself."
Someone who is not on the witness list. This person's testimony is suddenly needed to rebut something unexpected that another witness said. For example, your ex testifies that your child is sick so often because you will not do what the doctor says. You call the doctor as a rebuttal witness to explain how well you care for your child, who has numerous medical conditions that result in frequent illnesses.
The Rules of Evidence control what evidence the court is allowed to consider (see below). There are two main forms of evidence - people's testimony as witnesses
and items presented as exhibits.When people speak as witnesses in court it is called testimony. You can testify if you are the plaintiff / petitioner or defendant / respondent. Other people who have direct and relevant knowledge can testify as witnesses. Also people who keep records can testify about the records.
When things are used to present a case, they are called exhibits. This can be photographs, records such as police reports, medical, bills, appraisals, school report cards, etc. Basically any item that is relevant to the case can be considered as evidence.
They are rules that control what evidence the Court is allowed to consider. Their purpose is to get the most reliable, relevant and accurate evidence to the Judge. For example:
You should carefully choose all witnesses. Find out how much time you will have to question your witnesses so that you can figure out which ones are the most important to present. Figure out why you want to call a particular witness by thinking about the following questions:
Sometimes, before you call a witness, the Judge will want to know why you are going to call that person so that she can decide whether the testimony is necessary and relevant. An Offer of Proof is a short statement from you telling the judge
It is not cheating to prepare your witnesses. To best prepare your witnesses for the direct examination, write out the questions you will ask them at trial. Practice asking your witnesses these questions. Prepare an Offer of Proof that you will say to the judge to help you focus their testimony.
To prepare them to be cross-examined by the other side, talk with your witness about what questions the other side might ask them.
Remind your witness that they must always tell the truth. Emphasize that they are not allowed to make up stuff. It is ok to say, "I don't know" or "I don't remember" or "please rephrase the question because I don't understand."
You may subpoena a witness that tells you he or she will not come to court to testify. A subpoena is a court order requiring a witness to show up in court for a specific reason. The court has different forms to use for subpoenas:
Please see the detailed instruction sheet, How to Subpoena a Witness, CIV-109,
for
more information.
There is a very specific way to prepare your exhibits BEFORE you come to court. This involves:
Read carefully:
Exhibits cannot testify for themselves, so somebody has to introduce them to the court. Over time, a standard procedure has developed for admitting exhibits, and you need to understand this if you plan to submit exhibits.
In summary, the person introducing the exhibit has to know about it, be able to identify it and confirm that it is authentic. For example, you could introduce a letter written by the defendant to you or a photograph of your house, because you will have first hand knowledge to identify it. However, you could not introduce a photograph of your ex's new house in Florida if you've never seen it.
You have the right to tell the court that you think the other side is somehow violating the Rules of Evidence by objecting. The Rules of Evidence set out the reasons to object, which are very complicated. If you do not feel comfortable with objecting, you should consult with an attorney.
As soon as you hear something (usually a question but it could be an exhibit) that you think violates the rules, say "I object!" The judge may ask you why, or may simply decide by saying either "Sustained" (which means the judge agrees with you and the other side must stop that question and the witness shouldn't answer) or "Overruled" (which means the question or exhibit is allowed and other side can continue).
No, the judge will not object for you. The judge is not like a referee, who calls a foul when he sees one. You need to let the judge know that you think the evidence that the other side is trying to admit is not allowed by saying "I object!" The judge will then rule on whether the objection is correct and if evidence can be admitted or not.
You will be required to file the following documents in divorce and custody cases:
& TF-201 ANCH
& TF-201 PLUS
If you are getting a divorce, you will need to file with your trial brief:
If you are getting a divorce and children are involved OR
If you are filing for custody, you also need to file with your trial brief:
Please read the information about serving the opposing party.
You may find the following instructions and forms helpful:
Instructions
Forms
The best way is to watch a hearing or trial. Most court proceedings are open to the public and if they are closed, there will be a sign on the door.
Don't miss any deadlines in your case. If you do, you may not have the chance to go back and fix what you missed.
Plan your case, remembering all the important steps along the way. Start out by writing out your plan, including your witnesses and exhibits. Write out what you and your witnesses are going to say. Use the forms available from the Family Law Self-Help Center and the Alaska Court System to introduce evidence. Practice. Remember what your end goal is.
For many people, the courtroom is an unfamiliar place. We may know generally what happens in court (a judge decides a case), but not how the courtroom works. It helps to look at the roles of the people actually in the courtroom. This diagram outlines the people in a trial and where they sit in the courtroom. Some courtroom designs may vary, but this diagram shows a standard layout.
A private attorney can be found by word of mouth or through the Alaska Bar Association's Lawyer Referral Service
The Family Law Self-Help Center website has information and forms and the staff can answer questions on the telephone help line.
The Internet, your local bookstore or law library also have materials available for preparing for trial or hearings.
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27 September 2011 © Alaska Court System www.courts.alaska.gov |
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