Instructions for reporting a civil or small claims court session
Paper instructions:
Attend a CIVIL or Small Claims Court Session and do a written report addressing the points below (traffic, probate or family court cases will not be accepted). Your visit to court should only take 30-60 minutes – just collect the info you need then go home and draft your report.
Cases can be found here:
Search Civil Calendar by Department 9 to see a list of cases by date.
Form of Report
Name of Court (i.e. Small Claims, Superior Court, etc.)
Court Address
Name of Plaintiff
Name of Defendant
Date Attended Court (must be during current semester)
Case # (Note: I will be checking to verify you visited a current court case).
Facts of Case (i.e. what did you observe in court)
What does the plaintiff want the court to do
What is the position of the defendant
What is the problem (issue)
Did the court decide the case?
If so, what did the court say about how the case was decided?
If not, then how would you decide the case if you were the judge?
If the court decided the case, do you agree with the court’s decision? Why or why not?
NOTE: You will be graded on following: the form of the report, providing complete answers, providing examples and referencing the text. Find a minimum of two business law issues that relate what you observed to what we covered in class. You will also be graded on organization, and writing skills including grammar and punctuation.