When you appear before the judge in a Protective Order Hearing, you are going to have a limited amount of time to present your side of the story. Courts sometimes hear several cases per hour so time is of the essence. Below are some things to remember when going to court.

REMEMBER to:

• Be on time. Show up at least 10 minutes early. Be sure to check in with court personnel.

• Bring the witnesses. If you say something happened and the other party denies it, it is sometimes hard to tell who is telling the truth. If a witness saw the act happen, saw the injuries (or that there were no injuries), or heard the other party say or admit an important fact, it is important to bring the witnesses with you.

  • Remember- Hearsay (statements from people not present) is usually not allowed in court! Also, you have a time limit- don’t bring more witnesses than you need.

• Bring the needed documents. Bring extra copies of medical bills, text messages, and letters if they show what happened. The court does not always have time to copy your documents for you during the trial.

• Bring photos. If you have pictures of the scene, injuries or absence of injuries, or damage to property, make sure you bring extra copies of the pictures for the court.

• Bring Recordings. If there is a (short) recording of statements by the other party showing what he/she did or admitting nothing happened, have the recordings ready, cued up to play in court, and bring a player to play them on.

  • Note- The trial cannot stop while you play through all your voicemails looking for evidence.

Your case is important to our court. The courts want to be fair to both sides. Therefore, you need to have your case altogether to best represent you.

Reference: Hearing Preparation Notice in the Arkansas 6th Judicial Circuit

AUTHOR: LYNN PENCE, STAFF ATTORNEY FOR THE CENTER FOR ARKANSAS LEGAL SERVICES