7.6 Writing a court statement; the body of the statement
Once you have drafted the heading and opening paragraph of the statement, you then need to order the statement in numbered paragraphs. Each paragraph should usually be 3 to 4 sentences long and deal with one point or issue at a time. In many statements it is helpful to tell the story consecutively, starting at the beginning and working forward to the current time. The client can then explain at the end what he or she wants to happen and why.
It is important to help the client tell the story as concisely as possible and to make sure all the information is relevant to the court application. It is also helpful to be as precise and detailed as possible, for example with dates, times and locations.
The statement should be in the client’s own words so you should not paraphrase or re-write what the client tells you. It should be written in the first person, as the statement is coming from the client. You should not use jargon.
Did you know?
Often a client will seek help from Support Through Court because they have submitted a statement to the court which is not in the correct format. The court will ask them to re-write the statement with the help of a volunteer from Support Through Court.
Activity 7
Here is an example of Steve’s letter which he submitted to court in the child arrangements proceedings involving his daughter Chloe. Please read it and then answer the questions below.
Dear Judge,
I haven’t seen my daughter since their mother took her away from me. She is a party girl and uses coke and is mentally unstable which is why she is making up all this rubbish about me. It is completely untrue, and I have lots of evidence that shows she is lying, and her friends will tell you even that she is drinking all the time around the kids and using coke. I’ve got pictures from her Snapchat. She is saying I have hit her which is made up and the police are going to nfa it anyway. The injury was caused by her dealer who hit her because she owes him money. The neighbour who called the police doesn’t like me. I want the court to stop her from using Chloe as a weapon to get me to pay for her party lifestyle and to make her let me see her like I used to. If I was really that violent, she wouldn’t have let me see her before now. It is her that needs to be stopped from seeing Chloe as she uses coke all the time. The CSA are after me now and they say that Chloe doesn’t stay at mine, so I have to pay more and that is only because of her lies.
Thank you
Steven Smith
What is wrong with the statement above?
Comment
The statement is not in a court format – i.e. numbered short paragraphs. It is confusing as it is not sequential and jumps between different events and timelines. It contains some irrelevant information, for example about the finances. It is also not immediately clear what the client wants the court to do.
Turning again to the Johnson/Smith family, you may recall that Steve has told you the following information:
Steve tells you that, ideally, he wants Chloe to stay overnight with him three nights a week, as this is what happened before. He says that he is Chloe’s father. Chloe has lived with him since she was born four years ago until they separated three months ago when Jazmin moved out.
He works as a security guard on shifts working four nights on and three nights off. He wants Chloe to stay at his house on the three nights a week he is not working. He has not seen Chloe since Jazmin moved out of the family home. He doesn’t know why Jazmin stopped him seeing the children. Chloe has her own bedroom at his house.
He denies being violent to Jazmin. He says that Jazmin uses drugs and drinks around the children and any injuries to her were caused by her drug dealer.
Activity 8
How would you write this information in the main body of a court statement?
Comment
Your statement could look something like this.
Statement of the Respondent: Steve Smith | ||
| Statement no: 1 | ||
| Case Number MAxxxxxxx | ||
| Dated: xxth xxxxxx xxxx | ||
| IN THE xxxxxxxxxx FAMILY COURT | ||
| BETWEEN | ||
| Jazmin Johnson | Applicant | |
| and | ||
| Steve Smith | Respondent | |
FIRST STATEMENT OF THE RESPONDENT | ||
I, Steve Smith of 4 Grove Road, Sandford, SS12 1YP make this statement to set out my position with regards to the application for a child arrangements order in respect of my daughter Chloe Smith (Date of birth 12/02/2016). The applicant, Jazmin Johnson, is my ex-partner and is Chloe mother.
| ||
7.5 Writing a court statement; the heading