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  • (GENTLE MUSIC)

  • WOMAN: Finally, I had my day in court.

  • This is called a hearing.

  • On the day of the hearing

  • 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.

  • A magistrate you call 'Your Honour'

  • 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,

  • which is the table that the lawyers use.

  • It's a strange feeling at first.

  • In legal terms, I am called the plaintiff.

  • because I started the case to get my money back.

  • Clark is called the defendant.

  • Ms Rashad and Mr Hansen,

  • this matter is listed for hearing today.

  • That means I will look at the evidence in your case

  • and then make a decision.

  • -Are you Ms Rashad? -Yes, Assessor.

  • -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?

  • -Yes, Assessor. -Yes, Assessor.

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

  • WOMAN: Case management orders.

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

  • before the hearing.

  • The magistrate or assessor

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

  • But it doesn't end there.

  • 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,

  • and one from you, Mr Hansen.

  • I have already read these.

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

  • Ms Rashad, when you are ready.

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

  • On 1 February, 2011,

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

  • to register and insure his car.

  • I loaned the money to Mr Hansen

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

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

  • I had to explain the main things

  • 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.

  • He heard the conversation with Clark

  • 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.

  • Thank you.

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

  • Assessor, I am sorry to be taking up court time

  • with a matter as trivial as this.

  • As you'll see in my witness statement,

  • paragraph two,

  • I recall feeling overwhelmed and surprised

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

  • I was a bit worried

  • 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

  • except for one little thing.

  • -And said... -(MOBILE PHONE RINGS)

  • RHASHADA: He forgot to turn his phone off.

  • So as I stand here today...

  • (MOBILE PHONE RINGS)

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

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

  • Someday I would have to confront...

  • -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.

  • I gather that's your phone.

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

  • I'll just turn it off here.

  • It normally goes straight to MessageBank.

  • I'll just... Yep, there, there.

  • Anyway, after he'd heard us both

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

  • It was really pretty quick.

  • Right, Ms Rashad, Mr Hansen,

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

(GENTLE MUSIC)

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