Prosecutors, lawyers, and judges conduct court proceedings daily. Your divorce attorney may spend a lot of time in the courtroom and be very comfortable in court and knowing the process. However, many people have never stepped foot in a courtroom. Just thinking about being in court and having to speak to the judge in your divorce case can make you worried and anxious. While every case is different, below are guidelines as to what you may expect at court in a divorce case in Nebraska.
What to Expect During Divorce Court Proceedings
Filing the Complaint
The first step in a divorce action is filing the divorce action. In Nebraska, this is done by filing a Complaint for Dissolution of Marriage. If you retain an attorney, the attorney will file this for you and will do so electronically. If you are filing on your own, you will go to the courthouse but not the courtroom. The Clerk’s office is where court filings are accepted and processed.
Temporary Hearing
Often the first hearing in a divorce case is a temporary hearing. At the temporary hearing, the Judge decides issues on a temporary basis so that there is some order in place while the divorce case is pending. This often includes an order regarding temporary custody, child support, alimony, and issues regarding financials that can’t wait for the final order.
The format of the temporary hearing varies from county to county. Most temporary hearings are short hearing where the attorneys make a short argument as to what their client is asking for and why. Generally, the client doesn’t get to speak at the hearing. Instead, affidavits are submitted for the judge’s review prior to the hearing. The affidavits are the written statements by the parties and other witnesses that are signed in front of the notary as sworn to be true. The judge reviews these affidavits prior to the hearing instead of hearing live testimony at the hearing. If you do have a temporary hearing to attend, you don’t need to be nervous. You likely are just appearing to observe. Your work in preparing the affidavit will be done long before the hearing itself.
In fact, some judges handle the temporary hearing “in chambers.” This means that the judge brings the attorneys only back to the judge’s office, hears the arguments from the attorneys, and makes a ruling from there. The client never even sees the judge or steps foot into the courtroom. Because of this, a client’s attendance at court is optional for this format of temporary hearing.
Even in contested divorces, often the temporary hearing is the only hearing. Most cases do settle without a trial and the judges tend to give some direction to the attorneys at the temporary hearing to help facilitate final settlement.
Mediation
Mediation is when the parties meet with a trained mediator who helps them try to reach an agreement. In Nebraska, the parents are required to at least attempt mediation to try to come up with a parenting plan regarding their children.
Mediation doesn’t take place in a courtroom. It is a low-key affair that occurs at the mediator’s office. The mediator will go through the rules with you in an individual session before the joint session with the other parent occurs.
Status and Pre-Trial Hearings
It is not uncommon for the Court to set a status or pre-trial hearing. These are generally short hearings to share with the Court how close (or not) the parties are to settling the case. For example, the judge might ask if mediation has been completed or financial documents exchanged yet. The judge may use the pre-trial or status hearing to set a trial date to make sure the trial date given works for both parties’ calendars as well as the Court’s. This type of status hearing is generally quick. As it is mostly a housekeeping-type hearing, clients often aren’t expected to appear.
As the case gets closer to trial, sometimes a pre-trial hearing is used to help determine what are the remaining contested issues. Sometimes the judge at these hearings can give some direction as to a contested issue if requested by the parties to help facilitate further settlement discussions. Sometimes these hearings occur in chambers and thus, the clients aren’t expected to appear.
Motion Hearings
It is not uncommon for there to be additional motion hearings if the divorce case is contested. The format and length of these hearings depend on the type of motion filed. One of the more common motions filed is a motion to compel discovery responses. This is a short hearing to ask the Court to order the other party to return their financial documents or other documents requested as part of the formal discovery process. Rarely is this the type of hearing where the clients get to speak. Usually, the hearing is decided on the motions filed by the parties and the arguments by the attorneys for or against the motion. Sometimes affidavits are submitted prior to the hearing. Thus, usually, no live testimony is allowed. When clients do appear for these hearings, it is often just as an observer.
Waiver of Final Hearing
Most divorce cases settle without a trial. The Nebraska statutes now allow a final hearing waiver. If both parties sign the divorce decree and hearing waiver, then you don’t have to go to court to resolve your divorce case. The paperwork is still submitted through the court but you may never have to actually step into a courtroom. Although these cases don’t make the news, many, many cases are settled in an uncontested manner with the clients never even entering the courthouse.
Trial
This one you do need to attend and be prepared for. Your trial date is usually at least a half day of court time. It is very often a full day of trial but can be a number of days of court days for divorce cases with many unresolved issues. Many hours of preparation go into preparing for trial. By the time of trial, your attorney will likely have already prepared and submitted your exhibits and gone through with you the questions that you will most likely be asked at trial. Some people look forward to their day in court and some people fear it. Either way, with the right preparation, you can feel confident when you step into the courtroom on your day of trial.
At Court
If you do attend a hearing, ask your attorney for their expectations before you step foot into the courtroom. As stated above, in most hearings you won’t be required or even allowed to talk. Never talk out of turn. Unless the Judge directly asks you a question or specifically invites you to speak, you should not start talking in a court unless called to the witness stand. Some judges get really grumpy if a client tries to speak out of turn. Don’t do it.
If you are called to testify, be nice and be concise. Speak the truth with a calm demeanor. Think of yourself as being in a business meeting.
This isn’t the time to start crying or get overly emotional. Too many people have tried to use crying to manipulate the judge’s emotions. They are often immune to it and often just get annoyed by it. It isn’t the way to present yourself in the best light in court.
You aren’t expected to be a robot. If a tear slips out, that is okay. Just take a couple of deep breaths and then move on with calmly stating the facts and telling your story.
On the flip side, once you are successful, keep a professional demeanor. Even after the judge rules in your favor, save the celebrations and big smiles until you are away from the courtroom and the other party. Keep in mind that, unlike other areas of the law, the opposing party was probably someone you cared about deeply at some point. Further, if you have children together, you are likely going to continue to have a relationship in some format with the other party for the rest of your life. The point is to be kind in your moment of winning and don’t rub it in the other person’s face.
What to Wear?
People often wonder what to wear to court. As an attorney, I often have more of an issue with people over-dressing than under-dressing. For most people, a polo shirt and khaki pants or nice jeans is about right. The equivalent of such is also appropriate. If you could wear the outfit to a job interview where the dress is casual, then you are probably about right. Your outfit should reflect that you dressed in a respectful way for Court but that doesn’t bring any attention. Unless you are appearing as an expert witness, a full suit is often too much. In fact, with wealthier clients, I sometimes have to ask them to tone down their outfits to give the best impression. If we are asking for more in alimony from the other party, I don’t want you walking into court with a three-thousand-dollar designer purse and freshly, professionally manicured, stand-out nails. Keep your look simple, but respectful, and you will likely be dressed in a way that will best benefit your case.
There is a caveat to this. If you have something about your appearance that already brings attention to you, then sometimes it does make sense to dress up just a bit more. For example, if you have a full sleeve of tattoos on your arm, I may suggest to wear a full-length dress shirt if I am afraid that our judge will judge you for it otherwise. While our judges do try to be fair and impartial, first impressions matter.
Seek Help from a Divorce Attorney
Whether you are excited or fearful to enter a courtroom, having a lawyer by your side who has been there, done that, can make all the difference in your confidence and the outcome in a divorce. Seeking a lawyer is advised regardless of whether you are defending or requesting a divorce.
Law Office of Julie Fowler, PC, LLO | Divorce Lawyers Omaha
Child Custody | Child Support | Divorce Lawyers Omaha
If you are looking for an attorney in a child custody, child support case or divorce case in Omaha, Nebraska, or the surrounding areas (including Papillion, Bellevue, Gretna, Elkhorn, Douglas, and Sarpy), contact our office to set up a consultation.