What to Expect in Court

When parties are unable to resolve their dispute outside of court, a judge (or jury) can decide the outcome.

The person who initially filed the complaint/petition/request will have the first opportunity to talk to the judge. This is called an opening statement. The purpose is to briefly outline what the attorney expects to be able to prove through the testimony and other proof. 

Following the plaintiff's (or petitioner's) opening statement, the defendant (or respondent) has an opportunity to make an opening statement.

After opening statements, the plaintiff "puts on proof." That is, one or more witnesses give testimony regarding the issue(s) in dispute. After the plaintiff's attorney concludes his direct examination with each witness, the defendant's attorney has an opportunity to ask the witness questions through cross examination.

Generally speaking, the questions on direct examination are open-ended, e.g. "Tell me about...," while questions on cross examination are "Yes/No" questions, e.g. "Isn't it true that..."

Once all of the witnesses for the plaintiff have testified, the defendant has the same opportunity to present witnesses, if needed.

At the conclusion of the proof, both attorneys get to make a final argument to the judge regarding the direct proof and inferences from the witness testimony and other proof presented.

The judge will either make an immediate ruling or defer the ruling to think about it. It is common for the judge to direct one of the attorneys to draft the order that reflects the ruling.

The entry of the order and payment of any remaining court costs closes the case.