Name: LawAccess NSW - Small claims: The hearing
Uploaded: 2017-10-28T17:01:51.000Z
Duration: 5 min 19 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Adverbs of manner

Basic passive voice

you should check the court list and see what courtroom you're in.

The listings should also tell you who will be hearing your case.

It's usually done by an assessor or a magistrate.

and an assessor, well, you just call them 'Assessor'.

You go in, sit at the back of the court and wait your turn.

Alright, let's move on. Rashad and Hansen.

The court officer might show you where to sit,

In legal terms, I am called the plaintiff.

because I started the case to get my money back.

That means I will look at the evidence in your case

-And you're Mr Hansen? -Yes, Assessor. Clark Hansen.

Alright, now, case management orders were made in this matter

that you would exchange statements and evidence

with each other two weeks prior to this hearing date.

Have you each received the other's evidence?

OK, I have these here. I'll just take a moment to read these.

That means the court had told us to get all of our documents together

reads through all of the written evidence, both sides'.

I still had to present my case in person.

That's called making a submission and it's worth preparing for.

OK, you've both complied with the case management orders

and filed and served witness statements and some documents.

I have two statements from you, Ms Rashad,

Now I will give you each the chance to put any submissions to me.

Because I had started the case I got to go first.

Mr Clark Hansen called me to say that he needed a loan of $2,000

and in my statement I explain how I gave him the money

and how he told me that he would pay it back.

I wanted the assessor to know about my case.

I had notes written down and I could look at them,

but it's not good practice to just read your statements.

Try to emphasise the strong parts of your case.

The day I loaned Clark the money, my uncle was there.

and he heard him say that he'd pay me back when he started his new job.

In the witness statement that my uncle has supplied

you'll see that Clark agreed to pay the money back before Easter.

After I was finished, it was Clark's turn.

Assessor, I am sorry to be taking up court time

I recall feeling overwhelmed and surprised

that my dear friend wrote me a cheque for $2,000...

because Clark seemed more confident than I expected.

RHASHADA: He'd thought through both sides of the argument.

He denied he'd ever said he didn't have the money to pay me

and he said nice things about me being generous.

In fact, he had planned a near perfect presentation

RHASHADA: He forgot to turn his phone off.

..never a thought in my mind that I would...

-That somehow... -(PHONE CONTINUES RINGING)

-Comfort myself or, uh... -(PHONE CONTINUES RINGING)

I mean, what I'm trying to say is that...

Mr Hansen, I'm having some trouble hearing you over that ringing sound.

Yes. Sorry, your assess... Yes, it's my phone.

It normally goes straight to MessageBank.

the assessor asked some questions and then he went ahead and decided.

I'm ready to make a decision in this matter.