How to Write an Effective Statement for Court: A Step-by-Step Guide

A Quick Rundown of What Your Court Statement is for

A court statement, also known as a court report or a statement of the case, is different than a affidavit. Although a court statement often covers the same basic facts, it does not need to follow the strict rules that an affidavit must. Many family law attorneys prefer court statements over affidavits because they are less formal, but the purpose of such a statement is often critical.
Basically, a court statement is a narrative summary of what has happened. It is meant to be a refresher for the Judge regarding your case. Often when attorneys come before a Judge, the time allowed for arguments is limited to about 10 minutes. It’s nearly impossible for the lawyers to remember all the details involved and the information about why the Judge’s decision was what it was. The court statement is a way to tell the Judge about the background details of your case while condensing down the information. In other words, the court statement allows the Judge to remember the facts of your case more easily.
There are several things that the Judge basically wants to know when you arrive at a hearing. First , the Judge wants to know that he followed his previous orders. The court statement lets the Judge know that everyone has been following the orders so far and outlining any exceptions to such orders. For instance, in a child support hearing, the court statement tells the Judge if any of the parties’ income has changed in recent months, or informing the Judge if one party has lost their job and can no longer pay their share of support.
Next, the court statement lets the Judge know what matters have already been resolved in court. Divorcing couples will often have a series of hearings that will lead to the final divorce and custody order. All of these hearings have to be brought before the Judge and the parties have to prove that there are material changes in their case that actually require those steps.
Finally, the court statement lets the Judge know why the decisions that the couple made are better than decisions made in previous hearings. The Judge wants to know why a joint custody arrangement between the parties will work, whereas the sole custody order would not, or why a long-distance parenting schedule is better than one that requires lengthy travel.

Writing Your Statement: Key Preparation Tips

Before you settle down to write your court statement, take a step back and identify precisely why you are seeking the order that you are. You should put some thought into what you want a judge to know and how you can convey that information. You also need to find the evidence to support each part of your statement. Ask yourself if there are medical records to support your claims. Some cases require the use of expert witness testimony. Getting your facts straight now will make the writing process much easier. It is very important that you be clear about the facts of your case so that you do not include irrelevant information. Your goal is to be truthful about the situation, so include only the facts that will support your goals for the case.

How to Organize Your Written Court Statement

Structuring your court statement is a critical component in persuading a court that you’ve got a credible, well-thought out case and should be believed and trusted about the information you are providing.
A poorly organized, jumbled mess of a statement does not help its credibility. Because: If it’s not clear to you what you are trying to communicate, it’s not going to be clear to the reader. So, before you pick up a pen to create your court statement, think it through. We’re of the mind that constructing an outline as to what you’re going to say and how to state it, can be a true benefit. You could have a separate page with just a couple of sentences for each point. Or, like the outline of a book, each section broken down into its component parts. The key is making sure you have logical organization of information so you can more effectively present your case. A court statement will usually contain an introduction of what you’re listing and then jump into the body, which typically consists of the information you are providing (including photos for divorce cases) and may also include, at least for a divorce case, instructions. You want the person on the other end to be able to follow your logic without having to reread the statement two or three times. And, at the end, you want to provide a conclusion where you summarize the details set forth in your statement. Take the time to make sure you’ve communicated your case so the reader can follow along.

How to Write Effectively for the Court

A good court statement has clear, simple language. Don’t use complicated legal terms or jargon in a court statement. The Statement also shouldn’t be ambiguous. You write it as a factual statement rather than an opinion.
Keep in mind that the Family Court Trials are not about what is best for the child or children. It is about what the child or children need at that point in time. A good court statement will go directly to the facts of the matter and help the court decide what the child or children need. The statement should conform to the requirements of a court that you’ve already looked up and written down, from this site under Court Statements.
If you write opinions or legal jargon or anything that is not related to the facts without the relevant evidence to back it up, the court will simply disregard what you have written. If for some reason you insist on writing an opinion but have the relevant evidence to back it up in the court statement, make sure that the opinion is obviously an opinion and not a fact.

Using Factual Evidence and Documents in Your Statement

Integrating Relevant Evidence and Documentation into the Court Statement
In addition to presenting a clear background and history in your court statement, you will need to include supporting evidence and documentation. The evidence you include can help to strengthen the impact of your statement, so it is important to choose carefully what documents to include and how to reference them. Typically, it is best to attach evidence as exhibits to your court statement. When you submit your statement to the court, you will need to reference these exhibits so that the reader knows what is included. Reference to exhibits may simply involve footnoting numbers next to applicable sections, like "Exhibit A" or "Exhibit 1". You may also consider citing the relevant exhibit in the text as well, by adding a note that directs the reader to specific information. For example: "When X said what he said about me (Exhibit 1), it really made me feel uncomfortable." Regardless of how you reference your exhibits, it is always a good idea to number them sequentially and include a table of contents at the beginning of your statement, so that the reader will know the number of exhibits they should find at the end. For even greater clarity, you should also specify where your exhibits are located. For example, if Exhibit 1 is the first document attached after your court statement, note that your exhibits "begin on page 3 . " When figuring out which exhibits to attach, consider your objectives and the claims you make in the statement. For example, if you are seeking an annulment, you may want to attach copies of any and all certificates that relate to the validity of your divorce. If you are denying an allegation made by the other side, you should attach evidence that proves the allegation is false. The more credible evidence you can provide, the better. Third-party witnesses can be valuable sources of evidence, for example, as can correspondence, marriage contracts and more. Finally, while you can integrate evidence into a court statement, you may not want to do so for everything. Generally, documents that take up a lot of pages go in the exhibits. Moreover, you need to remember that some evidence should definitely not be included in a court statement. For example, statements of witnesses, affidavits, credit reports and other exhibits that depend on personal knowledge and opinion do NOT belong in court statement but in a motion to submit such documents. At all times, as you write your statement and organize your exhibits, be aware that any information included in the documents should support the facts that you present, but it should not introduce new facts or evidence. Your court statement should be a cohesive whole and should not leave the reader confused about the circumstances.

Carefully Reviewing and Editing Your Statement for the Court

Once you have composed your statement, it’s important to take the time for a thorough review and edit before finalizing it. Proofreading your statement is an essential step in making sure you have composed a statement that is complete, comprehensive and free of grammatical errors.
To begin the review process, we recommend taking some time away from the statement. Once you’ve stepped away for a few hours or even a couple days, return to it and read the statement out loud. This will help you to internalize the content of the statement and gain a fresh perspective away from the emotion of the initial drafting. As you read the statement out loud, pay attention to the flow of the statement. Does the information presented follow a logical flow? If not, shuffle the paragraphs until the content follows a more logical flow.
As you read, mark any grammatical errors or typos you see. Simple proofreading tips include:
After catching any spelling or grammatical errors, it’s also a good idea to read through your statement again to check the content and flow.
For a professional opinion on your statement, send it to a lawyer for review. A lawyer will generally be glad to look over your statement to make sure everything is accurate and complete and they’ll let you know if anything is missing from the statement.

Mistakes You Should Be Aware Of

Common mistakes to avoid when writing a court statement
A common mistake is writing the statement as though it were an informal letter, with an apologetic tone. An apology can only be appropriate if the context of the meeting requires a show of contrition. Most often, the objective of attending a court meeting is to convince a judge and other parties present of your position.
Underscoring this point are other common faux pas, namely the inclusion of extraneous, emotional information and a lack of familiarity with court guidelines. Writing paragraphs that veer off the topic or excessive use of emotional language will distract the reader. Keeping the statement to the point and factual will make for a more cohesive meeting.
Finally, therefore, look at any court guidelines for statement length and formatting. Writing in the prescribed style puts the reader in the right frame of mind, avoiding potential pitfalls.

Filing Your Court Statement

A successful court statement isn’t just about sharing your thoughts and raising your most important points. There’s still the matter of submitting it, which might not seem like a critical task, but it is just as important as the statement that you’ve spent time putting together.
Fortunately, submission procedures are usually straightforward. But if you’re given a deadline, whether it’s for submission of a statement or other document to the court or to another party for the trial judge’s consideration, it’s crucial that you meet the deadline. If you’ve signed up for the first slots on a particular date, you’re likely on the hook for getting listed events done early in the day. You cannot hope to exceed someone’s efforts by outlasting them. The deadline means the deadline. Don’t be surprised. Show up early. Get your work done early. Or write a letter to the deputy trial court administrator. It’s hard to know what’s going on in someone else’s head.
You’ll get instructions on filing your statement with the court. This could be instructions related to electronic entry into a court’s case management computer system or physical delivery on a hard copy or maybe both. It might be an upload. Many courts have programs that help you with the parts of the process that could too easily end up delaying your case by denying filing. But courts aren’t prepared to spend manpower on your case beyond giving you a chance to help yourself. If you don’t get your papers to the right people , though, it can mean a delay of your case. If you don’t get your papers in (and especially if you don’t do so on time), it can mean going to court for nothing. At least until you either print the original and copies on actual paper and then deliver them to the court or at least show the court that you can get your Scott’s or Finding Aids or Per Curiam done and delivered electronically. Again, that’s why your lawyer will tell you to show up early. So plan ahead and allow yourself enough time to get to the courier and for them to have enough time to get your papers to the court. Get there early. It’ll never hurt. (Except once maybe, but you’ve already heard that story.)
Don’t forget to serve the trial court’s papers on the other parties and anyone else who’s been ordered by the trial court to receive a copy. Even many pro se litigants don’t realize that the clerks’ office are not responsible for serving papers for you. In fact, while they do it to a degree, they are really only responsible for serving parties who give a specific request (which they sometimes strongly discourage). You’re responsible for serving others. Failure to have done so could be grounds for a second trip to court — even at this late stage in the game.