Questions about Trial Process and Procedures

[SingleDadJames]

So I'm slowly but surely getting ready to go to trial with /\/\idland and I am having trouble finding MI specific help with what actually I need to do before going to trial. I can't seem to find the "Trial Handbook for Idiot Pro Se Litigants" that I was hoping the court published

I have a bunch of general questions...predominately what do I need to file/do/submit before going to the trial date?

- Do I need (or the Plaintiff) need to file/submit any sort of witness list?

- Do I need to send the Plaintiff any sort of list of evidence I intend to submit? I submitted and filed some documents with Discovery (here in MI court rules say you don't need to submit Discovery unless you intend to introduce it as evidence)

I'm just a little worried that if I miss a deadline etc I'll shoot myself in the foot. I'm sure if there is any sort of deadline for submitting things they Plaintiff's attorney will wait until the last minute so I can't follow their lead I've been reading the rules of civil procedure/court rules and they are surprisingly thin as far as what needs to be done for trial. What little info I found for trials was really just dealing with the jury. I don't see much specifics outlining the process for me, but I may just not be looking in the right spot. I suppose this is where that fancy and expensive legal edjumacion comes in handy

If anyone can help point me where to look/read online I'd appreciate it.

This is in District Court in MI and is a non-jury trial.

[Savoir]

Plaintiff filed a 'Disclosure of Witnesses and Exhibits for Trial'

I followed suit and filed the same.

Court ordered a Trial Brief so I filed one. Without knowing a heck of a lot about what was required to be in it, I just basically regurgitated all of the events that had occurred previousily and then made notice of the issues that I thought should be brought up during the trial.

The Trial Brief was to be filed 3 days in advance of the trial date.

[SingleDadJames]

Thanks so much Savoir! I figured there were some things that had to be submitted. This gives me a great starting point to do more research.

Thanks again!!!

[SingleDadJames]

So in my case we still have never addressed my Motion to Strike their Affidavit of debt from the alleged employee of the JDB. I filed this motion to strike along with my answer...back in June/Julyish. I'm pretty sure this is because I've never scheduled a motion hearing. (Also, I have no idea how exactly to do that.)

I was sort of letting it go because I thought perhaps things would be resolved BEFORE a trial date was set. The judge has sort of briefly mentioned it a couple of times in pre-trials...leading me to believe it was going to be handled at the court's convenience during the next pre-trial conference etc.

At any rate, we now have a trial date that is about a month and a half out. Is there any sort of deadline to having motions heard/handled before the trial date? I'm not sure if this something that has to be heard and dealt with before trial. Can/should I address it at trial?

They also provided me some lame documentation during pretrial discovery that I think I should possible move to have stricken. At this point in the game would it be better to just wait until trial and then raise my objections then? I don't want to tick the judge off or give the plaintiff an excuse to ask for a continuance.

Sorry for all the dumb questions, but I'm still not having a lot of luck searching for some sort of reference to help outline trial guidelines as far as deadlines and procedural protocol for a civil bench trial in District court in MI. I can find all kinds of info to help with a Circuit court criminal or civil jury trial though! ..go figure.

[jackson212]

you have to check your rules of civil procedure in your county/state.

the trial judge may also have specific rules.

with regard to setting your motion, im only going to assume your motion practice is similar to mine. your motion is served with whats called a "notice of motion". this is a document that tells the other party that you are filing a motion, the motion is about xxxxx, the motion will be heard on a specific day that you choose, time is usually 9:30am, and the court name/address is stated as well. its pretty much what the document title suggests: a notice of your motion. its usually only one page long

see sample

http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/supreme/notice.pdf

the format in your state and court is probably different. but usually the caption is at the top and the notice follows, then you put your name, signature, and address at the bottom

[SingleDadJames]

Thanks for the reply Jackson.

Yeah I've read the rules of civil procedure and don't have much info pertaining to actual procedures of a non-jury trial etc. I'll definitely be re-reading them though since it's been awhile.

From what I see in other districts and even in other states it definitely looks like each individual judge has their own set of procedural protocols they like to stick to. Unfortunately in my District and with this judge there is NOTHING posted online.

I do have a basic idea of the fact that a motion notice needs to be served...which is something that I really can't do until a date for a motion hearing is set. I know some courts handle this for you...and others do not. It definitely appears I need to call the court and handle it. I was just trying to avoid calling this particular clerk of the court because they don't like to even give basic advice on general court procedures.

Thanks for the help...the sample notice of motion will really help when it comes time to write it up!

[jackson212]

i dont suggest you follow my lead, cause NY is really liberal.....but when i realized the court wasn't going to help me i just showed up with my motion with a hearing date that i picked. once you show up they are forced to tell you what you did wrong,etc. yeah i wasted a trip but i learned the basics. this only happened once, the other clerks have been helpful. then i said forget that and i went to the law library and read all the relevant procedures for my court. now i realize the clerks weren't 100% correct on some of the info they gave me

good luck, keep us posted

[abby12]

So in my case we still have never addressed my Motion to Strike their Affidavit of debt from the alleged employee of the JDB. I filed this motion to strike along with my answer...back in June/Julyish. I'm pretty sure this is because I've never scheduled a motion hearing. (Also, I have no idea how exactly to do that.)

I was sort of letting it go because I thought perhaps things would be resolved BEFORE a trial date was set. The judge has sort of briefly mentioned it a couple of times in pre-trials...leading me to believe it was going to be handled at the court's convenience during the next pre-trial conference etc.

At any rate, we now have a trial date that is about a month and a half out. Is there any sort of deadline to having motions heard/handled before the trial date? I'm not sure if this something that has to be heard and dealt with before trial. Can/should I address it at trial?

They also provided me some lame documentation during pretrial discovery that I think I should possible move to have stricken. At this point in the game would it be better to just wait until trial and then raise my objections then? I don't want to tick the judge off or give the plaintiff an excuse to ask for a continuance.

What lame docs you got in discovery?

Sorry for all the dumb questions, but I'm still not having a lot of luck searching for some sort of reference to help outline trial guidelines as far as deadlines and procedural protocol for a civil bench trial in District court in MI. I can find all kinds of info to help with a Circuit court criminal or civil jury trial though! ..go figure.

There is no dumb questions, we are learning at least that is what I was told, lol. I am as well in Mi. and the JDC is no lead in what they are planning or doing at any time. Also, I am new to this and learn alot on this site.

The rules of procedures have some leads on what you are aloud and when to file or say.

If all fails you can always call the court clerk and ask how to go about a continuance. Or, if you have anything from plaintiff (like the lame docs) file a motion to compell right away. There are some samples all over the net. Motions can not be filed after 7 days before trial.

Hope that helps

My case is under Pro Se Michigan - need help

__________________________________________________________

This is no legal advise and should not be taken as such

[SingleDadJames]

I thought I'd add to my list of dumb questions. I have a motion hearing and trial coming up very soon and I had a couple of questions.

How do I verbally cite a Rule of Civil procedure and Michigan rule of evidence?

Take for example MRE 103

MRE is further broken down into (a) and then that's further broken down into 1,2,3 etc:

Rule 103 Rulings on Evidence

(a) Effect of erroneous ruling. Error may not be predicated upon a ruling which admits or excludes evidence unless a substantial right of the party is affected, and

(1) Objection. In case the ruling is one admitting evidence, a timely

objection or motion to strike appears of record, stating the specific

ground of objection, if the specific ground was not apparent from the

context; or

(2) Offer of proof. In case the ruling is one excluding evidence, the

substance of the evidence was made known to the court by offer or

was apparent from the context within which questions were asked.

Once the court makes a definitive ruling on the record admitting or

excluding evidence, either at or before trial, a party need not renew

an objection or offer of proof to preserve a claim of error for appeal.

If I was referring to MRE 103(a)(2) how do I TELL that to the judge.

Is it MRE 103 subsection a, 2? I definitely have some rules I need to address verbally in court but I don't want to sound like a total idiot when pointing out what an idiot the plaintiff's attorney is?

Even directing me to a post or source online where I can figure out how to orally cite half of these rules would be helpful. I've spent some time searching and can't find much. I'm sure someone on here has probably already found what I'm looking for!

[skippy1960]

James,

You have come along way in the Pro Se process, but in the end you need to be yourself. You probably aren't going to sound like a lawyer, and IMO you shouldn't. Being Pro Se means you lack certain techincal skills and this shouldn't be a big concern...

State your citation in how you speak in any normal business situation, the more important piece is that you are as accurate as possible with the Law citations as they relate to your case, not how you cite them. I believe the judge will more impressed with issues of law that are on point to your case versus the way your articulate the citation.

So it could be " your honor Michigan Rules of Evidence , Rule 103 section a number 2" or your honor MRE Rule 103 a 2. My personal way of speaking is the first, but if the judge is young and hip maybe you go with the second. As the stress level will be high I would go with comfort...

[SingleDadJames]

James,

You have come along way in the Pro Se process, but in the end you need to be yourself. You probably aren't going to sound like a lawyer, and IMO you shouldn't. Being Pro Se means you lack certain techincal skills and this shouldn't be a big concern...

State your citation in how you speak in any normal business situation, the more important piece is that you are as accurate as possible with the Law citations as they relate to your case, not how you cite them. I believe the judge will more impressed with issues of law that are on point to your case versus the way your articulate the citation.

So it could be " your honor Michigan Rules of Evidence , Rule 103 section a number 2" or your honor MRE Rule 103 a 2. My personal way of speaking is the first, but if the judge is young and hip maybe you go with the second. As the stress level will be high I would go with comfort...

Thanks Skippy! I guess what I was really trying to ask is, is it OK to say something like "MRE 103 a 2" or "MRE 103 section a number 2"? You've answered me perfectly!

I realize I'm not going to be able to sound like an attorney..but I want to avoid sounding like a complete moron as well. I guess I'm shooting for somewhere between village idiot and attorney (and apparently so is the Plaintiff's attorney if you had the wonderful opportunity to read any of their paperwork )

[ADSOFT]

So I'm slowly but surely getting ready to go to trial with /\/\idland and I am having trouble finding MI specific help with what actually I need to do before going to trial. I can't seem to find the "Trial Handbook for Idiot Pro Se Litigants" that I was hoping the court published

I have a bunch of general questions...predominately what do I need to file/do/submit before going to the trial date?

- Do I need (or the Plaintiff) need to file/submit any sort of witness list?

- Do I need to send the Plaintiff any sort of list of evidence I intend to submit? I submitted and filed some documents with Discovery (here in MI court rules say you don't need to submit Discovery unless you intend to introduce it as evidence)

I'm just a little worried that if I miss a deadline etc I'll shoot myself in the foot. I'm sure if there is any sort of deadline for submitting things they Plaintiff's attorney will wait until the last minute so I can't follow their lead I've been reading the rules of civil procedure/court rules and they are surprisingly thin as far as what needs to be done for trial. What little info I found for trials was really just dealing with the jury. I don't see much specifics outlining the process for me, but I may just not be looking in the right spot. I suppose this is where that fancy and expensive legal edjumacion comes in handy

If anyone can help point me where to look/read online I'd appreciate it.

This is in District Court in MI and is a non-jury trial.

What court are you in, small clairms?

Here is something from NOLO,

I used NOLO for California.

Edited January 30, 2011 by ADSOFT

[SingleDadJames]

What court are you in, small clairms?

Here is something from NOLO,

I used NOLO for California.

This is District Court in MI not small claims. Did you post a link ADSOFT? I don't see one but I AM having one of those nights..you could drop it on my lap and I might miss it!

[ADSOFT]

I guess you must be in district court.

[antiquedave]

Even directing me to a post or source online where I can figure out how to orally cite half of these rules would be helpful. I've spent some time searching and can't find much. I'm sure someone on here has probably already found what I'm looking for!

YES Exactly the issue I'm having as well

Its driving me crazy and its a short trip to the end of the pier

These days the attorneys just have the help plug information in to a computer program right? probably gives them options as to what cases to cite in support and I cannot seem to find even the simplest cases to support any cause of action