Have you ever been a defendant (or plaintiff) in court?

[StephanieF]

My name is Stephanie and I am a college senior writing an honors thesis in Sociology. My research deals with defendants (and plaintiffs) in court cases. As part of my study, I need people who have been defendants or plaintiffs to fill out a survey about their courtroom experience. The survey will be completely anonymous and only used for the purposes of my paper. It is in no way related to any journalistic endeavor.

If you are interested in taking this survey, please let me know.

Thank you,

Stephanie

 

[Madeline]

My only experience as a litigant was my divorce, Stephanie, but if it helps, I will take the survey.

 

[California Girl]

My only experience as a litigant was my divorce, Stephanie, but if it helps, I will take the survey.

I'm suing you for calling me a biatch. Get a lawyer, biatch.

 

[ConHog]

My only experience as a litigant was my divorce, Stephanie, but if it helps, I will take the survey.

Someone divorced you? Surely you jest.

 

[Mad Scientist]

I'm not giving out any info and I suggest everyone else do the same.

Reported.

 

[Rat in the Hat]

First post, and she is looking for personal info?

Something is fishy here.

 

[StephanieF]

I am sorry to cause anyone any alarm. It is my first post because when I realized I needed a way to find survey participants, I looked for web sites that had discussion boards that related to the law and the court system.

It is a holiday weekend now, but once school resumes I will find a way to have my school verify the nature of my research for anyone who wants it.

Thank you,

Stephanie

 

[Madeline]

My only experience as a litigant was my divorce, Stephanie, but if it helps, I will take the survey.

I'm suing you for calling me a biatch. Get a lawyer, biatch.

Truth is an absolute defense...*laughs*.

 

[Madeline]

I'm not giving out any info and I suggest everyone else do the same.

Reported.

Wait and see what question she asks; no, it would not be wise to give RL names and case numbers, but perhaps the survey asks "How long did you wait for a decision?" "Did you think the judge was fair?" etc.

I fail to see how such replies would harm anyone.

 

[Madeline]

I am sorry to cause anyone any alarm. It is my first post because when I realized I needed a way to find survey participants, I looked for web sites that had discussion boards that related to the law and the court system.

It is a holiday weekend now, but once school resumes I will find a way to have my school verify the nature of my research for anyone who wants it.

Thank you,

Stephanie

Stephanie, might be better to post the survey questions and let folks reply, either by post or private message. No one will give any verifiable private information, but feedback on the experience of having been a litigant, I know I would be willing to share that.

 

[California Girl]

My only experience as a litigant was my divorce, Stephanie, but if it helps, I will take the survey.

I'm suing you for calling me a biatch. Get a lawyer, biatch.

Truth is an absolute defense...*laughs*.

You LIE Madeline.

 

[Madeline]

I'm suing you for calling me a biatch. Get a lawyer, biatch.

Truth is an absolute defense...*laughs*.

You LIE Madeline.

Not for free...*laughs*.

 

[ConHog]

Madeline is a lunatic. Only a fool would trust her for legal advice.

 

[StephanieF]

Hi Everyone. The survey is ready for anyone who wants to take it. I am going to paste it into this post, and then if you could please fill it out and paste it into a private message to me.

Thank you,

Stephanie


Survey:

Gender:

Current Age:

How old were you at the time of your most recent court experience?:

Are you Spanish/Hispanic/Latino?
What is your race? (White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Native Hawaiian, Guamanian or Chamorro, Samoan, Other Asian (write in race)):

Year (or years) that your court experience took place? (Most recent if multiple):

Location of the courthouse? (City and State):

What kind of court? (Civil, Criminal, Family Court, etc.):

Were you the Defendant or Plaintiff?:

What type of attorney did you have? (Court-appointed, private, represented self, etc.):

How competent did you find your attorney? (Very, Somewhat, Not):

How competent did you find the judge? (Very, Somewhat, Not):

In your interactions with your attorney, did you feel you were treated fairly? Explain either yes or no answer.

In your interactions with the opposing side’s attorney, did you feel you were treated fairly? Explain either yes or no answer.

In your interactions with the judge, did you feel you were treated fairly? Explain either yes or no answer.

During your court experience, do you think you were treat differently because of your race?

If yes, were you treated positively or negatively?

During your court experience, do you think you were treated differently because of your ethnicity?

If yes, were you treated positively or negatively?

During your court experience, do you think you were treated differently because of your gender?

If yes, were you treated positively or negatively?

Did any of these factors, in your opinion, affect the outcome of your case? (The sentence):

Please add any additional clarifying comments:

 

[Luissa]

Yeah, twice, and I am not sharing anything.

 

[Big Black Dog]

Hi Everyone. The survey is ready for anyone who wants to take it. I am going to paste it into this post, and then if you could please fill it out and paste it into a private message to me.

Thank you,

Stephanie


Survey:

Gender: Male

Current Age: 59

How old were you at the time of your most recent court experience?: 31

Are you Spanish/Hispanic/Latino?No
What is your race? (White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Native Hawaiian, Guamanian or Chamorro, Samoan, Other Asian (write in race)): White

Year (or years) that your court experience took place? (Most recent if multiple): 1979

Location of the courthouse? (City and State): Monk's Corner, SC

What kind of court? (Civil, Criminal, Family Court, etc.): Criminal

Were you the Defendant or Plaintiff?: Defendant

What type of attorney did you have? (Court-appointed, private, represented self, etc.):Represented myself

How competent did you find your attorney? (Very, Somewhat, Not):Extremely brilliant

How competent did you find the judge? (Very, Somewhat, Not): Very competent

In your interactions with your attorney, did you feel you were treated fairly? Explain either yes or no answer. I was kind to myself

In your interactions with the opposing side’s attorney, did you feel you were treated fairly? Explain either yes or no answer.Treated ok.

In your interactions with the judge, did you feel you were treated fairly? Explain either yes or no answer. Yes. The Judge was very receptive to common sense.

During your court experience, do you think you were treat differently because of your race?I was treated like I expected to be treated.

If yes, were you treated positively or negatively? Does not apply.

During your court experience, do you think you were treated differently because of your ethnicity?Not at all.

If yes, were you treated positively or negatively?

During your court experience, do you think you were treated differently because of your gender? No.

If yes, were you treated positively or negatively?

Did any of these factors, in your opinion, affect the outcome of your case? (The sentence): I represented myself with great skill. I even made the Judge cry.

Please add any additional clarifying comments:

Do you know those tags on a mattress that say "Do not remove under penalty of law?" Well, they are not kidding. I was found innocent and the case was thrown out of court because I tore the tag off of a mattress that was found down in the city dump. However, because I was seen tearing the tag off, I was arrested and had to bail myself out of jail. I was found innocent because the city dump had burned the mattress before it could be collected as evidence. They only had the tag that had been torn off and no mattress to match it with so I got dismissed because I proved to the jury that it could have been the tag off of any old mattress and not the one they said I had defaced. The Judge cried for joy when the jury came back with the "not guilty" verdict.


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