Deposition Power and Your Winning Case

Dr. Graves tells you here how and why to use your deposition as part of getting the data to have your case succeed. As well, how to avoid unscrupulous tactics by shifty lawyers who want to turn fact-gathering into an informal “gotcha” legal move. Know your rights and preserve them by knowing the rules. You can win your case if you seek the truth and know what rules your case is being tried under.

Know When, Why, and How ...

Explained much more fully in my official Jurisdictionary course, you can slay your opponent with depositions!

But!

Depositions, like other tools in your "Lawyer's Little Red Toolbox", are best used

1. At the right time,
2. For the right reason,
3. In the right way!

These people are having too good a time!

A deposition is not a friendly coffee-klatch! It is not a "social event".

But!

Beware of sneaky lawyers, who will try to turn a serious fact-getting process into a "conversation". Do not allow it. When you see it coming, stop it immediately! Depositions are designed to get at "relevant facts", but "good lawyers" will try to lull witnesses (called deponents at a deposition) into a false sense of security. They do this to win, not to be "friendly". They do it to trick the witness into "chatting", instead of answering distinct, relevant questions.

Next comes the fishing expedition. "I understand you're quite a golfer, Mr. Deponent." Beware! The lawyer will set things up to go beyond the scope of deposition discovery. The next thing you know, the witness will be bragging on the exorbitant country club dues he's been paying. Or, he may tell about his success on the links in Las Vegas last summer. Don't be duped. The lawyer doesn't care a thing about the deponent's golfing. He's on a fishing expedition. He's after something else.

Here's the rule that constrains depositions to the facts (explained more fully in my official Jurisdictionary course):

The scope of discovery (requests for admissions, requests for production, interrogatories, depositions, and subpoenas) is limited by the rules to finding facts that are "reasonably calculated to lead to discovery of admissible evidence"!

A golfer's handicap has nothing to do with his mortgage or child support or where he was last summer!

Say, "Objection! Goes beyond the scope of discovery!"

If the other side continues to abuse the rule, you have the right to terminate the deposition and file a motion with the court for an order directing the lawyer to keep within the rule.

On one occasion in my 25 year career as a case-winning attorney, the lawyer on the other side was so devious and his client (an insurance company executive) so evasive, that I obtained an order from the court appointing a special master to oversee the deposition and rule on my objections then-and-there. I got my evidence out of that executive, and the insurance company settled the day before trial!

In another case the opposing lawyer was so ridiculous, I was required to move the court for an order to hold the deposition in front of the judge in the courtroom! That was the end of the tricks and games.

There's much more you need to know to successfully use depositions in your case, but I'll leave that to the course.

You need to know:

1. When (knowing what facts to get beforehand),
2. Why (knowing what critical facts you need), and
3. How (knowing much more about technique).

When I first started learning 25 years ago what I make easy for you to learn with my affordable Jurisdictionary self-help course, the business of law was often confusing and overwhelming. Getting my feet wet as a fledgling lawyer, I often had to go up against lawyers who had as much experience as I have now, and they didn't cut me any slack. The advantage I had over younger lawyers (I didn't start my practice until age 42) was down-home common sense and life experience. All those years at a snooker table in my early life paid off, so I learned quickly how to get around the traps and tricks of my opponents. In the past quarter-century I learned what it takes to win!

It's not all about the law, you see!

It's all about knowing how to use the rules!

The substantive law that applies to any particular case is always easy to find, identify, and cite in a way that will control the judge.

The procedural law, on the other hand (evidence rules and rules of procedure) are like a recipe ... for success or failure!

Burden of Legal Proof…

Dr. Graves again sets the bar for telling the simplicity of the legal process. Here he tells that you don’t try to prove a negative – you make the opposition prove what they assert. So the defense is built (and won) by default. You merely are pointing out the holes in the offense. This of course says that you are inherently right just for showing up – as long as you make sure the opposing attorney and the Judge run by the actual rules of the system they operate under. Don’t fall for this false monopoly over your rights. Get the Jurisdictionary course and win your case!

Understanding Who Must Do What and Why!

Before reading through this important Tips & Tactics, you may wish to watch a short video. Just click the angry judge to access the video.

Click the Angry Judge!

Now, let me explain to you the common law principle we lawyers call "the burden of proof".

You may be working harder than you need to!

If you're being sued, the other side has the burden.

If the other side files a motion, the other side has the burden.

If the other side asserts a claim of any kind, the burden of proof is on the other side.

Not YOU!

Too many of you good people are victimized by trickery at the hands of other members of my profession. Lawyers routinely try to make their opponents try to "disprove" a fact or application of law, when the burden is always on the party asserting a fact or law!

This applies to pleadings, motions, presentation of facts and legal argument ... pretty much everything offered by a party demanding the court's favor!

Don't forget this nor let the other side trick you!

You're particularly vulnerable to this if you're pro se.

But! Knowing what Jurisdictionary teaches about the burden of proof and how to put the burden on the other side where it belongs will even the odds, level the playing field, and force your opponent to "put up or shut up"!

In my 25 years of experience as a case-winning lawyer, it has often been my great pleasure to win cases by just forcing the court to require my opponent to "put up or shut up", i.e., to carry his burden of proof or take his losses!

That's the law ... and it can work for YOU!

The "burden of proof" is always on the party asserting a claim, a motion, an argument, etc. The burden is never on the person defending a claim,a motion, or argument.

Sometimes the burden may "shift". The burden can shift back-and-forth during a lengthy case ... but it is always on the party making assertions, never the party against whom the assertions are made!

Just think how this applies to foreclosure or credit card cases! The credit lender asserts that the alleged debtor owes the debt ... and in far too many cases the alleged debtor (not knowing what Jurisdictionary teaches) does back-flips trying to prove he or she doesn't owe the debt.

Big mistake!

The lender making assertions has the burden to prove its assertions are true, reliable, verifiable, etc.

If more of you knew what Jurisdictionary teaches, you'd not fall into this trap of trying to "disprove" what your opponent is asserting.

Why be tricked by other members of my profession?

You know who they are. The people about whom more jokes are told than all the other professions put together.

Beware the law firm of Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe!

Everyone who demands a judgment, files a motion, or makes any claim whatever to the benefit of the court's favor is required by long-established common law doctrine to prove he or she is entitled to judgment or relief.

But, YOU must know how to bring the common law to bear in YOUR case ... and that requires knowledge of the Jurisdictionary methods.

Suppose your neighbor sues you for kicking his dog. He files his complaint and demands judgment. To get from his complaint to judgment, however, he must meet his burden.

He must prove you kicked his dog.

You aren't required to prove you didn't.

The burden is on him.

It's his case to prove!

Watch our video!

The burden of proof is always on the person asserting a claim, making a motion, or demanding a right. Before the court can lawfully grant relief of any kind, the party seeking relief must carry his burden to prove he's entitled to relief.

The party charged is not required to disprove what the claimant asserts!

You may have heard, "It's your word against his."

That is never true in court.

One side always has the burden of proof.

The burden is always on the party seeking relief, the party making a claim, the party moving the court, the party alleging a fact, etc.

Knowing how to use legal research and how to draft a memorandum citing appellate court decisions that control the trial court judge in your case puts YOU in the driver's seat ... and throws your opponent under the bus!

Lawyers will try to put you "on the defensive".

Expect it! I always do. I go into every case expecting the lawyer on the other side to be a liar and a crook. I go into every case expecting the judge to be biased against me. I go into every case prepared to enforce the law in my favor no matter who gets hurt on the other side!

Litigation is word warfare!

Go to www.WordWar.com to learn more about the popular Jurisdictionary and the Jurisdictionary method of using words to win in court!

Lawyers will try to trick you into going out of your way to prove a negative, e.g., that you didn't do something or that something did not happen. People who don't have my Jurisdictionary may expend tremendous time and energy to show they were out of town that day or were confined to a wheelchair or that neighbors know them as devoted dog lovers. This is what the lawyer wants. If a defendant ignorantly tries to prove the dog-kicking didn't take place, the plaintiff will be spared the effort of working to prove it did take place.

Don't be tricked by your lack of legal knowledge!

Smart litigants who know what Jurisdictionary teaches move the court to take judicial notice that the burden is on their opponents (plaintiffs or defendants) to prove what is claimed. Smart litigants who know what Jurisdictionary teaches force their opponent to bring admissible evidence to court to prove what they claim. Smart litigants who know what Jurisdictionary teaches don't let opposing parties' lawyers "testify" nor allow "affidavits" to come in as evidence. Smart litigants who know what Jurisdictionary teaches know how to stop summary judgment motions (or use them to kick the other side in the teeth)!

Smart litigants know what Jurisdictionary teaches!

Smart litigants win!

Do YOU want to win?

You really can't expect to win if you only know what you learn from your in-box, from amateur lawyer wannabe legal gurus, or weekend seminars run by folks who have no law degree or extended courtroom experience.

I've been a member of the bar for a quarter-century!

I know what it takes to win!

Put the burden where it belongs: on the other side!

Learn more about the burden of proof and how to win.

Learn how to control the court with Jurisdictionary!

Ask anyone who has the course. It's easy and it works!

www.Jurisdictionary.com

DEMAND YOUR AMERICAN RIGHTS IN THE COURTS!

Learn how and teach EVERYONE ELSE to learn how also!

Dr. Frederick D. Graves
Jurisdictionary ®

Legal Self Help - Arguing Motions

Tips & Tactics

Arguing Motions

So, you've drafted your motion, filed it with the clerk, sent a copy to the judge, and served the other side. You've supported your motion with a carefully-researched and well-written memorandum, setting out relevant facts and legal arguments why the court should grant your motion.

You've scheduled hearing time with the judge's Judicial Assistant agreeable to the other side. You've filed your Notice of Hearing with the clerk and sent a copy to the other side (by fax and mail).

Now the day is here. Hearing time!

You've taken your seat. The courtroom doors have closed behind you. The bailiff announces, "All rise!"

Enter the judge. Everyone stands. The judge looks around the room before saying, "Please be seated."

Don't sit down!

The judge will announce the hearing, telling everyone including the court reporter you brought to write things down (You did bring a court reporter, didn't you?), "We're here on case number 05-123, Peter Plaintiff versus Danny Defendant. This is the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment. Mr. Graves, please proceed."

The movant goes first. It's your motion. You're the movant.

Don't let the other side interrupt. This is one of the most egregious things crooked lawyers do. They will jump to their feet and interrupt as often as the judge lets them get away with it.
After the second or third interruption, stop your presentation long enough to request of the court, "Your honor, I have only a limited time to present my argument. May I proceed without interruption?"

Even if the court allows your opponent to continue interrupting, at least there will be less tendency for the judge to overlook obvious rudeness designed to disrupt your concentration. If the other side doesn't have a valid objection, you should insist on being able to speak without interruption. Often a good thing to say is, "Your honor, I need to make my record here, and counsel is interrupting with no legitimate purpose other than to prevent me from doing my job."

You have a right to be heard. It's been bought for you by the blood of men and women who died for your right to be heard.

Remember this, and demand to be heard.

Click HERE to learn more at our lawsuit self-help website.

http://www.jurisdictionary.com