You've Been Served
(Vocab)
Plaintiff
First on the agenda of our law firm tour is the the Marbled table. Here is where the plaintiff will be seated. The plaintiff will bring a case against another person in the court of law.
Defendant
Now we move on to our mahogany table at this fine arrangement is where the defendant will be seated. The defendant is the one having the case brought upon them from the plaintiff. They are practically the ones being sued for whatever they may have done to the plaintiff.
Complaint
Now we make our way to the complaint wall where we have all the complaints we have heard listed up on it. A complaint is something the plaintiff uses to notify to the court about what the defendant has done.
Summons
And here is our wall of summons,this is were we keep all our summoning papers. A summons is when an order is issued to someone so that they have to appear before a judge or magistrate.
Pleadings
Here in this red room is where we hear most of our pleadings take place. A pleading is a formal statement of the cause of an action or defense.
Pretrial Conference
But before any of this happens a pretrial conference is held. During a pretrial the parties will meet with a judicial officer where they will discuss the length of the trial, the amount of witnesses needed, and what topics to narrow the trial to.
Mediation
But if there is a problem during the trial the parties can attempt to resolve it through mediation. During mediation the parties attempt to resolve it by intervening.
Arbitration
Then if a mediation wont work an arbitration takes place. In an arbitration an independent body is hired to settle the dispute.
Trial
But for all the following to be able to take place there has to be a trial. A trial is when evidence is formally presented to a judge and typically before a jury as to determine guilt during a criminal or civil case.
Preponderance of evidence
If they plaintiff would want to win a civil action during the case they would need a preponderance of evidence. A preponderance of evidence is practically a standard of proof that must be met.
Verdict
And finally when the case comes to a conclusion it is called the verdict. the verdict occurs when the judge and jury have come to a conclusion about the case whether it be guilty or not.
Appeal
But if the defendant thinks the information presented were to be fraudulent they would be able to request an appeal. An appeal is when the defendant applies for a higher court to hear the case as to that they may reverse the lower courts decision.