Product Description
High-school history teacher Barrett Lake discovers Sara, a missing teen, hiding in San Francisco's Tenderloin district and mixed up in the murder of a shelter worker, a murder that Barrett is determined to solve. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Protagonist is Likeable
This novel features Barrett Lake, a fortyish female high school teacher and part-time private investigator. She is now teaching on a reduced schedule because of burnout and working for Francis Broz Investigations. Barrett is part Swedish, French and Chippewa. She is also Jewish by adoption.

Although the protagonist is likeable, the story is very sad. It does, however, contain some believable and strong characters. The action appears less authentic and is the weakest part of the book. ... Read more

Product Description
You don't have to pay a lawyer upwards of $200 an hour to represent you in a civil lawsuit!

Written in plain English, Represent Yourself in Court breaks down the trial process into easy-to-understand steps so that you can act as your own lawyer -- safely and efficiently. Veteran attorneys Bergman and Berman-Barrett tell you what to say, how to say it, even where to stand when you address the judge and jury.

Armed with the simple but thorough instructions in Represent Yourself in Court, you can be heard and taken seriously in any courtroom. And better yet, you'll be well prepared to achieve good results, without having to pay a lawyer's ransom.

Learn how to:
*file court papers
*handle depositions and interrogatories
*comply with courtroom procedures
*pick a jury
*prepare your evidence and line up witnesses
*present your opening statement and closing argument
*cross-examine hostile witnesses
*understand and apply rules of evidence
*locate, hire and effectively use expert witnesses
*make and respond to your opponent's objections
*get limited help from an attorney on an as-needed basis
*monitor the work of an attorney if you decide to hire one

Whether you are a plaintiff or a defendant, this book will help you confidently handle a divorce, personal injury case, landlord/tenant dispute, breach of contract, small business dispute or any other civil lawsuit.

The latest edition provides extensive information on summary judgments. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Represent Yourself in Court
Another good reference book when having to deal with the judicial system. It hits right on the money when it talks about the court system and being treated wrongly because you choose to represent yourself versus paying a high priced lawyer. This is serious business and you must be ready to run with the big dogs or stay on the porch. They will eat you up if you show signs of weakness and haven't made a serious effort to defend yourself using their books and rules.

Going to Court?
Having to go to court with out the money to hire a Lawyer several times, this book proved to be a valuable resource.It taught me that Judge and Arbitrators like individuals who are ready and prepared for their cases.If you can not have a lawyer present, you can at least prepare like one.

The authors give honest information on every part of the trial and the trial process.You will learn how to file a complaint to answering a complaint.It gives real information on the process of the trial from filing motions, seeking discovery and settling your case.It caps with judgments and appeals.

I like how the authors make everything easy to understand and the advice is completely useable.This can be used if this is you first time in court or your tenth.

Footnote:Nolo press is the best company that produces law books for the common person.They are always easy to read and pact with good advice.


Enjoy

You CAN represent yourself in court!
I used a few books including this one and You Don't Need a Lawyer. I did represent myself in court and was proud of that. If you have logical mind and believe in what you are doing you can win in court without expensive lawyer.

THANKS NOLO for putting this book out!JUST what I needed!
I LOVE this book!Very thorough, endless hints and tips.I am no longer afraid or to bring my own case and feel informed and competent.This book tells you with frank honesty what to expect, where you may encounter trouble and helps you handle almost any situation.I recommend it to EVERYONE.

Legal Information You Can Bank On!
In my capacity of monitoring the information desk for Chicago's main library, the Harold Washington Library, I come in contact with numerous people who are embroiled in legal battles and who need some accurate guidance in plain English. This book, "Represent Yourself In Court," is one of the books I recommend the most for those who have minor legal issues and can't afford (or choose not) to hire an attorney. It walks you through a whole range of legal proceedings from start to finish. It also presents questions for you to ponder before you decide to initiate legal action. It's written for civil litigation, not criminal. It also gives information about settling a matter, and gives pointers on how to decide if yu need professional help.

One woman who I'd recommended the book to used it to guide her through the divorce proceedings pertaining to her 20-year marriage. The next time she saw me, she couldn't thank me enough for recommending the book. She talked about how the chapter dealing with depositions saved her hundreds of dollars. She also told me that since then one of the authors, Paul Bergman, has put out another book, "Nolo's Deposition Handbook," and she has found it equally useful. I decided to check that book out too, to see if it's another resource I could recommend to folk. It is! I'm equally impressed with its thoroughness and the soundness of its information. In fact, so much so that I've also written a review for it on Amazon's web site. So if your matter involves giving a deposition, also check out my review of that book. ... Read more

Product Description
Prepare and present a winning civil court case!

Written in plain English, Represent Yourself in Court breaks down the trial process into easy-to-understand steps so that you can act as your own lawyer -- safely and efficiently. Find out what to say, how to say it, even where to stand when you address the judge and jury.

Armed with these simple but thorough instructions, you'll be well prepared to achieve good results, without the cost of an attorney. Find out how to:

*file court papers

*handle depositions and interrogatories

*comply with courtroom procedures

*pick a jury

*prepare your evidence and line up witnesses

*present your opening statement and closing argument

*cross-examine hostile witnesses

*understand and apply rules of evidence

*locate, hire and effectively use expert witnesses

*make and respond to your opponent's objections

*get limited help from an attorney as needed

*monitor the work of an attorney if you decide to hire one

Whether you are a plaintiff or a defendant, this book will help you confidently handle a divorce, personal injury case, landlord/tenant dispute, breach of contract, small business dispute or any other civil lawsuit.

The 5th edition is completely updated to include the latest rules and court procedures, and more sample documents to help guide you through your case.

Table of Contents

1. Going It Alone in Court

2. The Courthouse and the Courtroom

3. Starting Your Case

4. Pretrial Procedures

5. Investigating Your Case

6. Settlement

7. Pretrial Motions

8. Proving Your Case at Trial: The Plaintiff's Perspective

9. Proving Your Case at Trial: The Defendant's Perspective

10. Selecting the Decision Maker

11. Opening Statement

12. Direct Examination

13. Cross-Examination

14. Closing Argument

15. Exhibits

16. Basic Rules of Evidence

17. Making and Responding to Objections

18. Organizing a Trial Notebook

19. Expert Witnesses

20. When Your Trial Ends: Judgments and Appeals

21. Representing Yourself in Divorce Court

22. Representing Yourself in Bankruptcy Court

23. Getting Help From an Attorney: Hiring a Legal Coach

Glossary

Index ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

We WON!
This book was easy to understand and extremely helpful. We would have had to pay thousands for an attorney. In my experience I have found few people, even if paid, are as interested or have the intimate knowledge of your case as you do. Once you are armed with some of the basics you can be just as successful as having an attorney. There is no substitute for hard work, knowledge,and passion to win your case! This book gives you the much needed knowledge! By the way, we won our case.......

Going to Court?
Having to go to court with out the money to hire a Lawyer several times, this book proved to be a valuable resource.It taught me that Judge and Arbitrators like individuals who are ready and prepared for their cases.If you can not have a lawyer present, you can at least prepare like one.

The authors give honest information on every part of the trial and the trial process.You will learn how to file a complaint to answering a complaint.It gives real information on the process of the trial from filing motions, seeking discovery and settling your case.It caps with judgments and appeals.

I like how the authors make everything easy to understand and the advice is completely useable.This can be used if this is you first time in court or your tenth.

Footnote:Nolo press is the best company that produces law books for the common person.They are always easy to read and pact with good advice.


Enjoy

Incredible resource!
I decided to represent myself as a pro se litigant, and turned to this book since it got such good reviews.

I was NOT disappointed. It does a great job chronologically illustrating common judicial patterns, and it will even give you a spectrum of scenarios in case your court system operates a bit differently. There are example dialogs and mock situations to help you understand what to do in certain situations.

Believe it or not, I didn't need the book in the end. There is a statistic that is published in the book pointing out that over 90% of people who go into court usually settle before an actual trial.Because of this statistic, I mentioned it to the Plantiff's attorney and was surprised to hear, "well, then, make us an offer!"

Had I not had the chance to settle out of court, I would have been very prepared to represent myself.

There were a couple of weak spots in the book, but they were of my own wanting to have more information. One of those areas that the book needs to get up to speed on is electronic documents, such as dealing with e-mails, and techniques in proving that e-mails are legitimate.

I'd also like to mention for those of you who are looking for Child Support help, this is not a good book for that.It has a tiny section on Child Support, then leaves you hanging. This may be because laws vary so much, but I thought I'd at least point it out.The book is more for general concepts, so the info falls short once you begin specializing in certain subject matters.

Whatever your case is about, I can't emphasize enough for you to take a morning off from work to go watch some cases in court. You'll eliminate some fear of the unknown, you'll start to see that attorneys go through a similar set of procedures that you are just as capable of performing yourself, and you'll get a feel for how to talk to the judge and those who might be in the same room as you.

Don't go into court without this!
As a Pro Se Petitioner, I have found this book to be incredibly helpful! It explains all of the ins and outs of trial, how to organize a trial notebook, how to arrange your questioning, and how to cross examine among many other important facts.This book contains the inforation that lawyers know, that we need to know, but have not gone to many years of school. It is written in plain English, and is a MUST for anyone looking to go into or try to avoid going to trial!

Fantastic reference for the layperson
I was thoroughly impressed how well written and easy to understand this book is. Each step is completely explained, referenced and many documents have examples printed right in the book.There are great tips and tricks to deal with opposing counsel as well as warnings for what type of red flags and tricks to watch for from the other side. This book is an asset for the novice to the more experienced pro se litigator.Definitely a Five Star book. ... Read more

Product Description
The best plain-English book on criminal law available!

The criminal justice system is a complex maze, full of confusing rules and procedures. Fortunately, you can turn to this book for clear and complete explanations.

The Criminal Law Handbook answers your questions about every part of a criminal case. Find out everything you've ever wanted to know about how the system works and why police, lawyers and judges do what they do. It covers: