How Much Justice Can You Afford??

We are getting close to the point in some of my hotly contested cases where it comes time to settle or try the case. Many a case has been settled as they say "on the courthouse steps." At the eleventh hour, the clients, the attorneys or most often the judge in the part forces everyone to sit down and put their best efforts forward to attempt one last time to settle a matter before they agree to start a trial.

Many times this comes down to a mere dollars and cents argument, with one party or the other holding on to a principal rather than a real point which in all likelihood would cost more to litigate than to resolve. I'm always up for a trial, but frankly the outcome is never usually satisfying to the parties. I have had this discussion with clients repeatedly over the course of my practice,and emotion still controls many. Unless we absolutely cannot agree, or have any compromise then we go to trial. We need to go to trial for all the right reasons. Here are a list of reasons why you should NOT go to trial:

- You want the judge to see what a bad egg your spouse really is;
- You want the judge to see what a great person you are;
- You want the judge to see how reasonably you are willing to be;
- You want the judge to dispense Justice;
- You want the judge to put your spouse in jail;
- You want the judge to hear your side of the story

All of the above are all the wrong reasons to seek judicial intervention. Whether or not the judge thinks your spouse is a bad egg will be irrelevant to his or her ultimate decision. The decision will be based on the applicable law, not usually on the judges impression of either party unless their is a credibility issue. Dispensing justice can be a relative term. What is justice to one party may in fact not be justice to another party. Very rarely does a judge in a civil case put a litigant in jail. Where there are children involved and a child support issue, it also rarely makes sense to jail the monied spouse putting everyone in danger of joining the welfare rolls. Please also make no mistake on this one, the judge is not at all interested in hearing your side of the story. The judge wants your case to be settled between you and your spouse, the last thing he or she wants to do is make a decision.

So it comes down to the age old question: How much justice can you afford? Are we settling or rockin' and rollin' and calling our first witness? I am a mere servant to you oh client...pay my fee and direct me.....your wish is my command...just be prepared for the outcome.