Oral Arguments

Thus far I've had a number of oral arguments in court, here in American Samoa. All have either been unopposed, or the issue was been pushed down the road by the justice/judge. I was eager to finally have a contested motion to argue this morning. I'd drafted and sent out my motion to compel last month. I'd spent a healthy part of yesterday afternoon drafting my arguments and rehearsing them. I knew my law, I knew what my opponent would argue and I had my counters ready. I was ready to go.

Sara reviewed my arguments and suggested I pair it down to a few broad strokes. Not wanting to lose out on the technical aspects of what individual objections were improper and the finer points of civil procedure I lopped off as much of the fat as I could part with. I needed those arguments to be on the record.

I show up for the hearing, this morning armed and ready. We sit down and the Chief Justice looks around and say "Start talking. What are we arguing?" I then launch into my carefully crafted treatise on civil discovery and why the other side owes me some answers. A minute in the justice interrupts me with "I'd rather listen with my eyes, this matter is taken under advisement." Cut and done.

Lesson learned, if you can't say it to the court within a few sentences, it's not going to get heard.