Courtroom5

Be Your Own Lawyer

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A Motion Is Not An Action. Legal Terms That Vary From Regular Meanings

Sometimes when you feel you know a lot about the law, you get thrown a curve ball. An action is not a motion, prejudice is not really prejudice, standing has nothing to do with the body, and prayer is just plain weird. Indeed, it’s sometimes difficult to understand legal terms or concepts, especially when you’ve had years of using those terms or concepts in a different way. That’s okay. Take those terms as they come, and use them to benefit your case.

And if you need help representing yourself in civil court, it’s time to join Courtroom5.

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Why A Lawyer Can’t Teach You How To Win In Court

Legal advice websites are everywhere, and we make good use of them. But lawyers can’t tell pro se litigants how to win in court. They can only tell us how THEY win in court. We’re forced to play by a different set of rules.

Only experienced pro se litigants can teach others how a pro se litigant fights and wins. So the next time a lawyer promises to teach you how to win in court, ask when they last appeared before a judge without a law degree.

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How To Prepare For Your Day In Court

If you don’t prepare for your day in court, you’re preparing for an ambush. Opposing lawyers want to leapfrog over any issues favorable to you and get a quick win. The judge also wants a quick resolution of the case and will take any shortcuts to get you off the docket. Expect them both to lay traps for a naive pro se litigant.

Having learned the hard way how to prepare for a hearing, here’s my list of do’s.

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Sylvia Ann Driskell v. Homosexuals Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

On May 1st, Sylvia Ann Driskell, a 66-year-old Nebraska resident, sued every homosexual in the world. As ambassador for God and Jesus Christ, Ms. Driskell filed a seven-page handwritten complaint asking the federal district court in Omaha to determine whether homosexuality was a sin. Boiled down to its essence, her pro se complaint asserted that both the Bible and the dictionary had […]

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Judicial Tyranny An All Too Common Experience

Judicial tyranny is an ugly thing to see. The term usually refers to so-called “activist” judges who interpret the Constitution with no regard to the opinions of a democratic majority. But that’s actually what an independent judiciary is supposed to do. Real judicial tyranny occurs when a judge acts as his or her own law, […]

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“I’ve defaulted, so there’s no hope” and other Litigation Myths

Myths and uncertainty about the litigation process can be detrimental to parties involved in a lawsuit, especially those representing themselves. Reliance on myths, in fact, can lead to wasted time, avoidable losses and other headaches. The best cure for uncertainty is information, and the best cure for myths is truth. So, below is my list of myths that self-represented […]