7th Mistake When Testifying In Debt Collection Lawsuit — Having Wrong Courtroom Appearance
7th Mistake When Testifying In Debt Collection Lawsuit — Having Wrong Courtroom Appearance
We have a special report/book for those who have requested our information on debt buyer lawsuits — it covers the 7 most common mistakes we see when testifying in a debt collection lawsuit trial. We thought this part might be useful to you so we have included it:
What do we mean by the wrong courtroom appearance?
There are several things that we will discuss in this section and, if we represent you, we will tell you other items in our face to face meeting to prepare you in the best way for your trial.
Show Up Early
This seems so basic that it is amazing to see defendants appearing in court late.
There are some judges that, if you are not exactly on time, will enter a judgment against you.
Most judges, however, will make a second call of the docket usually 15 or 30 minutes after the original call of the docket occurred. But even if the judge allows you to be late, remember that this can have an impact on your credibility.
Most of us do not like for people to be late when we are waiting on them.
Judges are human also and in our experience they become somewhat annoyed just like the rest of us.
Why would you do anything to cause the judge to have anything but positive feelings for you?
The solution is to be early.
If your trial is at 9:00 then plan on being in the courtroom at least by 8:30.
In most court houses you will go through security and so you need to allow for time to park and get through security and then find the courtroom.
Dress Appropriately
We are not saying that you have to wear your finest dress or a tuxedo.
We do suggest that you dress in a manner that reflects your respect for the court and for the judicial system.
Whether or not it is fair, we all judge people by the way that they are dressed.
Our suggestion is to dress in a way that you are comfortable with but to dress nicely.
If you normally wear a suit to church or to work, then wear that to court.
If being dressed up for you is wearing a pair of pants and a long sleeve shirt then wear that to court.
You have to use your own judgment and you should certainly talk to whoever is representing you about this, but in general you want to dress in a way that shows that you appreciate and respect the judge and the court system.
Think about this way.
There’s a reason why the judge wears a robe.
It is not because the judge is cold.
It is because the robe signifies that this man or woman is now sitting in a very honorable and distinguished position of being a judge.
The robe reminds everyone of the seriousness of what is about to happen.
You should dress appropriately to communicate the same message that you understand and appreciate where you are, who you are standing before, and the fact that you are going to be testifying under oath.
Conduct Yourself Appropriately
These are basic ideas that all of our mothers taught us.
- Don’t be rude;
- Refrain from being sarcastic;
- Don’t make faces or use other expressions that showed your disgust, contempt, or annoyance with anyone or anything in the courtroom;
- Don’t interrupt anyone else in the courtroom — this includes the collection lawyer;
- Do be respectful; and
- Do be polite.
Bottom Line
You want to do everything possible to make sure that you are telling the truth and you want to do everything possible to make sure that the judge believes you because you are telling the truth. Not making this mistake of having the wrong courtroom appearance will help your credibility and your believability.
We can sum it up by saying be a nice courteous person in the courtroom.
If you have any questions, give us a call at 1-205-879-2447.
You can also fill out a contact form and we will get in touch with you soon.
Thanks for reading, and have a great day!