Speaking In Court

By Scott Morrill

Many people have had to suffer the indignities of appearing in traffic court, or have been so afraid that they have simply paid the fine whether guilty or not. Well, you can use your training, experience and skills you have learned an polished at Toastmasters to beat the rap.

Traffic court is not like the court generally depicted on TV. If you think that you have been unfairly charged with an infraction, stand up for your rights and fight. Generally, traffic court consists of a judge, a prosecutor, a police officer and a defendant (you). There are no juries and fewer formalities.

An appearance in traffic court can be as unintimidating as a well rehearsed CTM speech with a few Table Topic speeches thrown in. Prepare your defense (your CTM speech) and be prepared to answer any questions the judge or prosecutor may have (the Table Topic speeches).

Be firm, not uncertain. Use your best Toastmaster voice and put on your best Toastmaster appearance. Practice all the Toastmaster tricks for getting your butterflies to fly in formation. Remember, you best know what happened, not the judge or the prosecutor. Also, the only advantage anyone else, in the court, has over you, is that they have repeated the procedure over and over. Lastly, stay unemotional. It may be a big deal t you, but the judge and prosecutor have done hundreds or thousands of hearings, and to them this is just another day in court.