Difference between revisions of "Family Law Trials in Supreme Court"

# '''Prepare an opening statement:'''  This is a statement that is made at the beginning of each party’s case to give the judge some factual background about the case, an overview of the legal issues involved, and the positions taken/orders sought by that party.  If the parties have reached agreement on any issues, this should be communicated to the judge during a party’s opening statement.  If there are housekeeping issues (such as an expert witness only being available to testify on a specific date), such issues should be raised at this time as well.  A party’s opening statement should be consistent with a party’s closing argument.  

# '''Update outline for closing submissions:'''  Each party’s closing submissions should include a summary of the law on each issue, a description of each order sought by the party making the submissions, and a summary of the evidence that supports each order sought.  If a party has made an extensive outline during their earlier trial preparation (as suggested above), this step is simplified.  A party’s closing argument should be consistent with the party’s opening statement.

# '''Consider preparing a chronology:''' Each party should also consider preparing a chronology of important events such as the birth dates of each party and child, the date of cohabitation, the date of marriage, the date of separation, the date of divorce (if applicable), and the dates of any other significant events such as moves, job changes, promotions, inheritances, gifts, diagnoses, etc. for easy reference by the judge at trial.  If you do prepare a chronology, be sure to bring copies for the judge, the other party (or their lawyer), and yourself.

# '''Consider preparing a Scott Schedule:'''  If either party has a lawyer and division of property and debt is in dispute, then the lawyer will also prepare a ''Scott Schedule''.  A Scott Schedule is a spreadsheet that lists all of the property and debt in issue, the value of each at various dates, and other useful information such as whether there are excluded property claims, that party’s position about what should happen with each property and debt, and the like.  There is no requirement in the Supreme Court Family Rules that a Scott Schedule be prepared, but it is a useful reference tool at trial.  If one party has a lawyer who prepares a Scott Schedule, the other party can review it carefully and make note of where that party disagrees with the information provided.  If neither party have a lawyer and neither party prepares a Scott Schedule, the judge will likely use the parties’ financial statements as the main reference for financial information about property and debts.

#* List of witnesses (with contact information for each) and anticipated trial plan/schedule (which is really just a best guess as to when each witness will testify and for how long).

#* Page to list exhibits as they are entered at trial — this will be an important reference during the trial and when you are preparing your final argument.

#* Opening statement.

#* Direct examination of each witness that party intends to call (with each examination behind a separate tab).

#**Visit the courthouse to familiarize yourself with it (unless you know it well already), including checking the hours of operation, the location of the hearing list, the location of washrooms, and the availability of food at or near the courthouse if you don’t plan to pack a lunch each day of trial.

#**Consider watching a trial, as observation of the real thing is often the best education.  Trials are open to the public and are generally in session from 10 am to 12:30 pm and from 2:00 to 4:00 pm each day.

== Conducting the trial in Supreme Court ==