legal advice

Millions of small claims cases are filed in the United States each year and most people appear in these cases with little or no knowledge of how to be successful or defend themselves properly. You may be surprised to know that the judge who will render a decision in your case has in most cases made up his or her mind before he/she enters the courtroom.
Most judges will review their daily case load prior to beginning the court session. During this review period the judge will quickly review the plaintiff's claim and also the counterclaim (if any) and form an opinion as to whether he will make a judgment in your favor or against you. You may think that if the judge has already formed an opinion as to whether he is going to award you a claim or deny it that there is very little you can do to change his mind. You're wrong. There are many things you can do to either support the judges decision to rule in your favor or convince him or her to reconsider their decision to rule against you.
One of the first things you can do before you enter the courtroom is dress appropriately. You may think that your best pair of ripped jeans and your nicest t-shirt should be acceptable in a court of law - I assure you they are not. Whether you are appearing in court or applying for a job, the clothes you are wearing are the first impression someone will get of you. Dressing appropriately for court shows the judge that you are respectful of him and the court process.
Be courteous! Address the judge as Your Honor, Sir or Ma'am at the end of each of your responses to a judge's questions.
Be prepared! If you have documentation that proves your case such as phone records, receipts, or witnesses.... bring them or you will be sorry that you didn't.
Don't interrupt! Never interrupt the judge while he or she is speaking and do not interrupt the plaintiff or defendant while they are speaking. You will get your chance to speak so do not interrupt.
If you get the impression that the judge is leaning toward making a judgment in your favor then keep your mouth shut! Do not make additional comments because you are wasting the judge's time. Every small claims court judge has to rule on many other cases that day and the fastest way to irritate them is to waste their time by adding unnecessary testimony to your case.
99.9% of all small claims court judges go to work in the morning with every intention of making fair rulings. Don't convince them otherwise by being cocky, arrogant or difficult. Even if you believe that you are going to lose the case, it behooves you to conduct yourself properly. Judges have a great deal of latitude regarding the claim amount that is awarded in your favor or against you. Don't give the judge any reasons to rule against you with the maximum fines allowable. How do you do this? There are no guarantees... but following the advice listed in this article will certainly not hurt you or your case.