Proving the at Fault Driver in Court
Chances are, if you’ve filed your car insurance claim properly, if the insurance company investigators and adjusters have a good understanding of what happened, or if all involved parties can agree on a similar account of the events, most minor traffic accidents will not wind up in court.
But it’s always a very real possibility, nonetheless.
What you should do is… well, you should not sit around worrying or fretting. In fact, if you tend to get anxious about this sort of thing (it’s fair to say that some of us are intimidated by Judges), then the following may actually help to put your mind at ease.
Rather, you should…
Making sure that you have a leg to stand on in court starts well before the actual courtroom proceedings. You should know this now, before you have to deal with an accident: Get a lot of evidence.
When you have an accident, as soon as you’ve ascertained that everyone is okay and nobody is suffering critical injury, figure out who is at fault, what caused the accident, and try to make a mental or written note of exactly what happened, right now while the event is still fresh in your mind.
You should always have an emergency kit in your car that should include a disposable camera. In this day and age, you can use a cell phone camera, but the resolution may be too low to make much sense of the actual pictures. Take plenty of pictures. Photograph all the damage from every angle.
More often than not, you might not even need all of this evidence. Think of what a convenience store owner would say about keeping a defensive weapon under the counter: it’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.
If you’ve never watched any Judge Judy or The People’s Court, you might actually learn something by watching a couple of episodes. In a civil courtroom, there’s such a thing as proper etiquette, and such a thing as “stuff you should never, ever do”.
♦Addressing the Judge
The judge is always “Your Honor”, and you always speak to them respectfully and clearly. Remember that the decision is entirely up to them in the end, based on the event to their best understanding, and that can be influenced as much by your attitude as it can by evidence. Don’t try to sweeten them up or anything, as most judges find that more annoying that even blatant disrespect.
♦Dress Well
A tuxedo is overdoing it, but dress as you would if you were going for a job interview. Wear a button up shirt and slacks, or a modest dress. Don’t throw on ragged old jeans, and don’t walk in wearing a baseball cap or anything silly like that.
♦Sass the judge
♦Show up late
♦Say anything arrogant and dumb like “Do you have any idea who I am!?” etc
♦Joke around (a little friendly banter with the judge may be acceptable, depending on the mood they’re in, many judges use a little humor to keep the proceedings from feeling too dreary, but you’re hear to make your case, not to show off)
Honestly, it’s mostly just common sense. Be respectful, polite, keep your evidence organized, and accept the final judgement with dignity, whether it is for or against you.