Preparing Your Case for Court

Witnesses are an important form of evidence. Anyone who personally saw or heard key events in your case can be a witness. 

You cannot use letters from witnesses as evidence. You must have your witnesses come to your hearing and testify under oath in front of a judge. When witnesses testify at a hearing, both sides have the chance to ask them questions. This helps a judge decide whether the witness is telling the truth and is reliable.

Who can be a witness

Any competent person can be a witness, this includes:

• You
• Friends
• Family members
• Roommates
• Neighbors
• Professionals (like police)

If a witness agrees to testify for you

Provide the witness with details about when and where the hearing will be. 

If your witnesses cannot make it in person to the hearing, you can ask for them to testify by phone or video. Talk to staff at your court if you want to have a witness testify by phone or video. 

If a witness refuses to testify for you

If you have enough time, you can give a witness a subpoena. A subpoena is a legal document that tells someone they must be a witness at a court hearing. If a person does not follow a subpoena, they can get in trouble. 

You may be able to get a blank subpoena from your local circuit court for free. If you can’t get a subpoena from your courthouse, you’ll need to have a lawyer prepare a subpoena for you.  

There are many rules for subpoenaing witnesses. If you run into complications, talk to a lawyer. If you can’t find a lawyer to help you, you may need to move on and not rely on an unwilling witness.

A note on child witnesses

While there are no rules about how old a child must be to testify, it’s usually not a good idea to have a child be a witness. They tend to be less reliable witnesses. Testifying can also be traumatic for a child. 

If you are thinking of having a child testify, consider:    

• How necessary is the child’s testimony to your case?  
• Is there an adult who can provide the judge with the same information?   
• How will testifying affect the child’s relationship with the person they are testifying against?   
• How will testifying affect the child’s relationship with you?  
• What is the child’s age and maturity level?  
• How well does the child remember important events in your case?  
• Does the child want to testify? 
• Is the child able to provide detailed testimony to a judge or will they be so nervous that they will be unable to speak in court?

It's a good idea to prepare questions for your witnesses. A judge usually won't question your witnesses for you. 

Here are some tips for questionning witness: 

• Ask open-ended questions. Open-ended questions often begin with "who," "what," "why," "where," and "how."  
• Ask about things the witnesses saw or heard. Your witnesses cannot testify about things that other people told them. This is considered "hearsay" evidence.
• Ask relevant questions. Your questions must be related to your case and the issues in your case. 
• Avoid leading questions. A leading question can be answered with a “yes” or “no.” For example, "Isn't it true you were at her house on Saturday, January 9, 2024?"

It's helpful to bring other evidence to court with you as well. The more evidence you have to support your claims, the easier it is for a judge to believe you.   

Other evidence may include:   

• Text messages
• Photos
• Audio or video recordings
• Social media posts or messages
• Criminal conviction records
• Medical records
• Other records that relate to the issues in your case

Have video or audio evidence? Call your local circuit court as soon as possible for instructions on how to submit this evidence. Many counties require you to turn in this evidence on a USB drive or CD several days before your hearing—even if you're having an in-person hearing. You also need to send this evidence to the other side before your hearing. 

When you bring other evidence to court with you, each piece of evidence is called an exhibit. To get your exhibits ready for court:  

1. Print out your exhibits. All exhibits, including photos and screenshots of text messages, must be printed out. Don’t bring in evidence on your phone.
2. Organize your exhibits. Your exhibits don’t need to be in a certain order. But if you have multi-page exhibits, you should paperclip them together and write page numbers on each page of the exhibit.
3. Put exhibit stickers on each piece of evidence. Place an exhibit sticker on the first page of each piece of evidence, in the bottom right-hand corner. You can get exhibit stickers from your courthouse, online, or from an office supply store.
4. Number your exhibits. Each exhibit must be numbered. If you’re the Petitioner, number your exhibits, “1, 2, 3, 4,” etc. If you’re the Respondent, number your exhibits, “101, 102, 103, 104, etc.”
5. Make copies. After you organize and label your exhibits, make two extra copies. One copy is for you, one is for the other person, and the originals are for the judge.  

Tip: It takes longer than you think to organize exhibits for a hearing. Don’t wait until the morning of your hearing to organize your exhibits. If you don’t have a copier, you can print documents and make copies at your local library or a copy center. These places usually have copy machines that can print straight from a USB drive.    

In-person hearings

Bring your evidence to court with you. You can give the other person copies of your evidence at the beginning of the hearing. You will give the judge their copies during the hearing when you and your witnesses testify.  

Phone or video hearings

Every county has different rules on how to turn in evidence for remote hearings. In most counties, you must bring your evidence to the courthouse several days before your hearing. You also need to make sure the other person gets a copy. For more information on how to turn in evidence for a remote hearing:  

• Read your hearing notice. Some counties include detailed information on their hearing notices about how to turn in exhibits for remote hearings.   
• Visit your local court's website. You can find your local court’s rules for remote hearings on Oregon's state court website. 
• Call your local court. Call your local circuit court and ask court staff how to turn in your exhibits for a remote hearing. 

If you’re preparing to testify in court and you’re not a lawyer, focus on being clear, honest, and organized.

• Start by writing down the key points of your story in the order they happened—this will help you stay focused and avoid leaving out important details. 
• Make notes about the evidence you have that supports your story. Be sure to give the evidence to the judge when you get to that part of your testimony.
• Practice explaining what happened in a calm, straightforward way, focusing on facts rather than emotions. 
• Finally, be ready to answer questions from the judge or the other side, and if you don’t understand a question, it’s okay to ask for clarification.

You can find more information on being a witness in a legal proceeding here.

It is optional to make an opening statement or a closing statement at a court hearing or trial. Sometimes, judges skip opening statements or closing arguments if there are no lawyers and/or the judge runs out of time. 

Opening statements 

Opening statements happen at the beginning of a court hearing. They are like a movie preview. Both sides get a chance to give the judge a sneak peek at their case and the evidence they have. 

An opening statement is not evidence. If you want the judge to consider information, you must bring it up when it’s your turn to present your evidence.

Here is a sample opening statement:

"Your Honor, my name is Emily Johnson, and I am asking for a restraining order against James Carter. Over the past three months, he has harassed me, sent me threatening messages, and even tried to force his way into my home. I am afraid for my safety and the safety of my child. I have brought evidence and witnesses, including a police officer, police reports and messages, to show why I need this protection."

Closing statements

These happen at the end of the hearing, right before the judge decides. Closing arguments are your last chance to convince the judge to decide in your favor.  Both sides can make a closing argument. 

A closing argument is also not evidence. You cannot bring up new information during a closing argument. You must stick to the evidence that was presented earlier in the hearing. 

Here is a sample closing statement: 

"Your Honor, I have shown that James Carter’s behavior has made me fear for my safety. His threats, harassment, and attempt to enter my home have caused me constant stress and fear. I just want to feel safe again, and I ask that you grant this restraining order to protect me and my family. Thank you.”