Welcome to our Lawfirm
By: Cullen Crott
Whats ahead of you
Plaintiff- The person/ party who initiates a lawsuit before a court.
Defendant- The person(s) being accused of committing an offence.
Complaint- Any formal or legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons for a case, along with a method to re-mediate the dispute.
Summons- An order to appear before a judge or magistrate, or the writ containing it.
Pleadings- A formal written statement of a party, it claims or defends to another party's claims in a civil action.
Pretrial conference- Meeting of the parties to a case conducted prior to trial.
Meditation- Form of alternative dispute resolution, a way of resolving disputes between 2 or more parties w /concrete effects.
Arbitration- Parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons by whose decision they agree to be bound.
Trial- A formal examination of evidence before a judge in order to decide guilt in case of criminal or civil proceedings.
Preponderance of evidence- Legal burden of proof. Obligation of a party to produce evidence that will shift the conclusion away from the default position to ones own.
Verdict- Decision of the Jury on whether a persons guilty or not.
Appeal- A formal request to make a change to an official decision.
The process of civil cases tends to go follow a path such as this:
1) Cause of Action- Dispute between two parties, and cause of action arises.
2) Case filed in Superior Court Clerk's office
3) Service of summons and complaint upon defendants by any individual 18 years or older who is not a party to the action.
4) Defendants must file an answer within 20 days of date of service.
5) Discovery process among the parties.
6) Plaintiff/ defendant files motion to assign case to the trial calendar.
7) Pretrial conference
TRIAL
8) Entry of Judgement- Case resolved either by agreement of the parties, court
order, or by jury verdict.
9) Appeal- Either/ both sides may appeal the case to a higher court.
10) Enforcement of Justice (If necessary)