What an awesome week, every
law school students were all posted to a Temple, we have a compilation of true
life stories from the Temple………
Some Chief priest were very
nice, we heard some even offered the Externs food, while some were mean to the
students, I heard a Chief Priest wanted to reject some of them.
What a week……..
STORIES
FIRST STORY
Today in the Magistrate's
Chamber
Knock!knock! (Registrar comes
in)
Registrar: Sir, the former
inmates doing community service, they have finished working outside, they said
are hungry Sir.
Magistrate: They are hungry?
Ok...please help me tell them that there is food in the prison, I can send them
back if they want, so they can eat...
(3 minutes later)
Registrar: Sir, they said
they have taken water that they are very ok
SECOND STORY
Judge: Counsel you have not
appeared yet.
Counsel: My Lord, am here.
Judge: Then enter your
appearance.
Counsel: My Lord, I hereby
appear.
THIRD STORY
A pupil counsel (Nysc) was
almost forced to prosecute here...
She said she was holding
brief...
And the judge asked if she is
not a lawyer..
That she must handle the
matter and no adjournment...
The poor girl almost cried…….
REFLECTION: A lawyer shall not hand over his brief to
another lawyer to hold, and that other shall not accept the brief, unless the
brief is handed over a reasonable time for the receiving lawyer to acquire adequate
grasp of the matter. RULE 27 (3) RPC
FOURTH STORY
Magistrate: Counsel this
motion is defective
Counsel: Your worship nothing
is wrong with the motion
Magistrate: Okay move it let
me quickly strike it out.
FIFTH STORY
This evening as I was filling
my logbook, I was just wondering.
What if after criticising a
Lawyers presentation of a case.
Bringing out ethical and
unethical issues,
Dissecting the Law with the
facts (well done oga👍)
And on portfolio assessment
day
You walk into the Hall and
the first face u see…
Is the Lawyer you have
criticized as your external supervisor
I will be like am sorry Sir,
I forgot my grandfather's surname in my room
SIXTH STORY
Please help me am in a dilemma?????
What really happened was that
a counsel failed to insert suit number on witnesses’ statement on oath...
The judge directed that he
takes a date and regularize his processes
But counsel now said that the
judge should treat it as a mere irregularity..
The judge now said are u
stupid? Which chambers are u from?..
Counsel replied am not stupid
Your lordship
Should I reflect on this in
my log book?
Knowing fully well that it
the Judge that would sign my Logbook?????
SEVENTH STORY
A man and his wife were in
court to have a Divorce.
The problem in contention was
....who should have the possession of the child.??
The man or the woman
The woman jumped up and said;
"My
Lord, I am the mother of the child, I brought her into this world, with pain
and labour.... alone".
The judge then turned to the
man and gave him the chance to defend himself and
The man said;
"My lord ..I have a question, when you insert
your ATM card into the ATM machine and the money comes out does the money
belong to you or the machine....."?
EIGHT STORY
Today, we did cross
examination for over two hours and the witness was awesome
Counsel: Are you living with any woman
Witness: Are you asking if I
am living an unholy life
FALSE OR TRUE STORY
An extern entered the court and
he doesn't know where to seat and he went straight and asked the prisoners
brought to court to shift and he sat beside him
There was no issue about them
sitting together, until they almost mistakenly handcuff him
LESSONS
DRESSING IN COURT RULE 36(A) RPC
RULE: A counsel when in the
court room, must;
a)
Be Properly
attired while appearing in the court
b)
Abstain from any
ornament or apparel likely to attract attention to the counsel
c)
Dress neatly and
respectfully
POSER: WHAT ARE THE PRESCRIBED
DRESSING IN OUR COURT?
SUPERIOR COURT
Men
i.
Black or
dark-blue two piece or three piece suit
ii.
White collarless
shirt
iii.
White wing
collar (size should be ‘’bigger than shirt neck size, two studs required to
hold the collar to shirt)
iv.
Black shoes
with black stockings
v.
White band
(bib)
vi.
Wig and Gown
OR
i.
White shirts
with wing collar attached in lieu of collarless shirt detachable wing
ii.
Black and
grey stripped trousers in lieu of suit trousers
iii.
Sleeved vest
in lieu of coat
iv.
Black shoes
with black stockings
v.
White band
(bib)
vi.
Wig and gown
(robe)
WOMEN
i.
Black or Dark
blue;
Straight
dress
Skirt
and blouse
Skirt
and jacket with white blouse
ii.
White collar
or ladies white band
iii.
Black shoes
iv.
Wig and gown
(robe)
INFERIOR COURT
I.
No wig and
gown
II.
Counsel can
wear any of the above
III.
Men could
also wear white shirt and long tie with suit in lieu of wing collar.
HOW TO ADDRESS THE COURT
SUPREME COURT & COURT OF APPEAL
My Lords/ Your Lordships
HIGH COURT/ FEDERAL HIGH COURT/ SHARIA COURT OF APPEAL/
CUSTOMARY COURT OF APPEAL
My Lord/ Your Lordship
My Lady/ Your Ladyship for female
judges/kadis in Lagos
Magistrate Court
Your Worship
Your Honor (In Lagos State)
AREA/ CUSTOMARY COURT
Your Honor
HOW TO ANNOUNCE YOUR APPEARANCE
To announce appearance
May it please this honourable
court, S.O Derin (Miss) appearing for the Claimant/Applicant.
HOW TO MOVE A MOTION IN COURT
Introduction: Before this
honourable court is an application for _________ brought by motion on notice
with motion no ____________ dated the _____day of ___2016 and filed______(the
same day or later day as the case may be)
Rule/section: The motion is
brought pursuant to ______and under the inherent jurisdiction of this
honourable court
Prayers: My Lord, we seek the
following RELIEFS_______________ (read out reliefs)
Affidavits: My lord, this
motion is supported by a 10 paragraph affidavit deposed to by one ___________.
My lord we rely on all the paragraphs of the affidavit particularly
paragraphs______________.
Accommpanying Documents/
Exhibits: Accompanying the affidavit are three exhibits marked as
exhibit______________. My lord we also rely on all the Exhibits.
Written Address: My lord, we
have also filed a written address dated___________ and filed ___________ in
support of our application. We wish to adopt same as our oral argument.
Conclusion: We humbly pray
this honourable court to grant our application
RESPONSE IN OPPOSING THE MOTION
My lord, we are vehemently
opposed to this application. In doing so we have filed a counter affidavit of
12 paragraphs deposed to by the respondent himself. We have attached three
exhibits to the said counter affidavit marked as exhibits _______. We rely on
all paragraphs of the counter affidavit (particularly paragraphs _______) and
the accompanying exhibits.
We have also filed a written
address along with the counter-affidavit. We adopt same before this Honourable
court.
My lord we urge this court to
grant our prayers
ANALYSIS OF SECTION 8(4) LEGAL
PRACTITIONER’S ACT: RIGHT OF AUDIENCE AND PRECEDENCE
Generally, all lawyers have
Right of Audience, I noticed that in court in the hearing and determination of
matters, there was a level of precedence among the counsels. This is I accordance
to the LPA and the table of Preference is provided for in FIRST SCHEDULE of the
LPA, so the arrangement is;
- Attorney-General of the Federation
- The Attorney General of a State but only in the High Court of that State
- Senior Advocate of Nigeria in Order of Seniority
- Persons authorized to practice as Legal Practitioner by Virtue of Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of Section 2 of this Act; This include person exercising the functions of the following officers;
a)
The office of the
Attorney-General, Solicitor-General or Director of public Prosecutions of the
Federation or State….
- Persons whose names are on the roll in order of seniority of enrolment
- Persons authorized to practice by warrant……
SANCTIONS
AND COST
I bet these are words we keep
hearing in our various courts, here is a true life story;
FIRST STORY
1st Counsel: My
Lord, I would seek your indulgence for a date to go prepare and regularize my
processes
Judge: Looks up to hear the
other Counsel
2nd Counsel: My
Lord, I do not object to this, but My Lord, we fully prepare for the matter, we
would be asking for a cost of #350,000 , the witness are all in court and they
came all the way from Abuja, My Lord am coming from a far place, the
adjournment is not palatable to me.
1st Counsel:
Ahhh!!! My Lord, the counsel’s firm is on the Island, the record on the Witness
Statement on Oath does not show any one in Abuja. My Lord I appeal and appeal
that you show mercy…
Judge: having listened to
both parties, cost ought not be punitive, so I would award a cost of #50,000.
SECOND STORY
Counsel: My Lord, we brought
an application for extension of time to file our process…..
Judge: …..you aware that
according to the rules, for every day of default, you will have to pay certain
amount…..
CONCLUSION: From the two
stories we could see the illustration of Cost and Sanctions.
The purpose of Cost is mainly
to compensate one of the parties, and it is awarded based on the discretion of
the court, cost follows event in litigation. The conditions considered before
awarding cost are;
a)
The summons fees
paid
b)
The duration of
the case
c)
The number of
witness called by the successful party
d)
The nature of the
case of the parties, the plaintiff’s case or the defence of the defendant,
whether frivolous or vexations
e)
Cost of legal
representation
f)
Monetary value at
the time of incurring the expenses and
g)
The value and
purchasing power of the currency of award at the time of the award…..SEE ADELAKUN
V ORUKU
Sanctions on the other hand
are also known as Penalties prescribed by the rules of the court to be paid by
litigants to court for their non-compliance with the rules. Sanctions are
prescribed in a number of provisions of the rules of courts in many states.
TO BE CONTINUED!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Brilliant
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