How to Give Effective Submissions to the Trial Judge

When your small claims court trial is ended and all the facts are in and the witnesses have given their testimonies, the judge will give the representative of each party the opportunity to give a summation of all of their evidence. This stage of the trial is called, “submissions.” This is the last chance to plead your case before the judge by reiterating any important facts to the judge. Here are a few suggestions on how to present effective submissions.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Pen and paper
• List of evidence and witnesses

1. Stand up straight and speak directly to the judge, and not to the other party.
2. List your supporting evidence in accordance with your claim and in chronological order. You might say in your defense, “I believe that I have proved to Your Honour that I do not owe $5,000 for the car that Mr. X is accusing me of. I have presented a bank statement, produced the receipt for this payment and provided 2 witnesses who verified these facts.” Keep it simple.
3. Do not mention any new evidence that was not produced as evidence during the trial. If you forgot to produce it, you might ask the judge for forgiveness and request that you be given an opportunity to present it now. It is likely that it won’t be accepted but it’s possible the judge might accept it. If you try to just put it in, the other party’s representative will object and this could affect your credibility because it could be interpreted that you are trying to put these in deliberately without following court procedure.
4. Do not give any opinions or make any sarcastic comments towards the other party or their representative. Speak clearly and only of the facts that you know.
5. If possible, establish that the other party is not credible by mentioning any evidence that they presented but that was not accepted by the judge.
6. Bring up any instances where the other party stuttered in their evidence or had to correct their evidence, or where their evidence was not properly proved.
7. When you are finished, thank the judge for this opportunity and then sit down.

Tips & Warnings

• Always remain professional and don’t make faces or comments when the other party is speaking. You need to show respect to the other party to get it back from the judge.