Courthouses vary from county to county, and courtrooms vary from courthouse to courthouse.  But for the most part, the tables inside those courtrooms are pretty consistent.  Sometimes they have modesty panels, sometimes they don’t, sometimes they have electrical or internet access ports, sometimes they don’t, but regardless of where you try cases, you and your opponent will usually end up sitting behind identical 96″ x 30″ x 30″ tables.

The question you need to ask yourself is, “What impression does my table make on the jury?”

Before the trial begins, both tables will look exactly the same.  But once trial commences, your table and your opponent’s table will start looking dramatically different.  In my courtroom career, I’ve witnessed thousands of different table scenarios.  Some of the tables have been clean and neat, while others have been a complete disaster.  Typically, the table represented the personality of the attorneys sitting behind it, and was also a pretty fair representation of how neat and organized their cases were.  For example, the table with dozens of documents, books, and loose leaf papers strewn about:

They had 4 different theories of the case and were asking the judge to believe all 4 of them.  Compare that to the table with a single legal pad in the middle:

They had a streamlined view of their case, stipulated to everything that didn’t matter, and focused on their primary issue.

Keeping in mind Albert Einstein’s thoughts (“If a cluttered desk signs a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?”), here are a few guidelines for you to consider when organizing your counsel table:

1. Don’t remind the jurors of something they can’t have. Coffee?  Water?  Soda?  if your jurors aren’t allowed to have those items with them in the jury box, don’t have it at your table.  When you have a nice tall, cool glass of refreshing water at your table, but your jurors don’t, every time you reach for a glass they’ll be thinking about how thirsty they are.  And if they’re thinking about that, they’re not thinking about your case.

2. Don’t let them see exhibits that haven’t been admitted into evidence. It’s direct examination, and your opponent’s witness is testifying about the dimensions of the accident scene.  You’ve got a photo of the accident scene which contradicts the witness’s testimony, but it hasn’t been admitted into evidence.  During your opponent’s direct examination, you might be tempted to place the photo on your desk to remind you about questions you want to ask during cross-examination, but make sure you don’t get careless and leave the document on the desk within view of your jurors.  You may think the jurors aren’t peeking at the items on your table, but they are.  Until your exhibits have been admitted into evidence, take extra precautions to ensure those items are kept from the jury’s view.

3. Don’t let anything block your view of the jurors. Some attorneys bring printers with them to court.  Laptops and LCD screens are routinely a part of the landscape.  Sometimes we’re even tempted to place our briefcases or casefiles on the table for easy access during trial.  But the trouble with these items it that they can block your view of the jurors (and block your jury’s view of you).  Before trial begins, take a walking tour of the courtroom and sit in the jury box to ensure that you can see over the items on your desk, then take a clue from the 18 wheel truck drivers: If you can’t see them, they can’t see you!  Move the items out of view to ensure an unobstructed view of the jury, so you can keep an eye on the jury and calibrate your case to their needs.

It was a great weekend.  I flew out of town Friday morning to spend the weekend with three of my best friends in Nashville, Tennessee.  We hit all of the bars, heard some great bands, and braved freezing weather (maybe it wasn’t that cold, but we’re all from Florida, so it felt like it was freezing) to watch the Florida Gators beat Vanderbilt and secure our trip to the SEC Championship.

But when I returned home late Sunday night, what did I discover?  Much to my surprise, there was a subpoena waiting for me, “commanding” me to appear for trial at 8:30 the next morning.

Obviously, I’m no stranger to subpoenas.  During my career, I’ve been responsible for the issuance of thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of subpoenas.  But up until that evening, I must confess that I hadn’t given much thought to how it feels to be on the receiving end of one of those subpoenas.

I don’t know how other witnesses react when they receive a subpoena, but my first reaction was…  Well, let’s just say my first reaction isn’t suitable for publication in a family newsletter like this.

My second reaction was, “How can I get out of this?”  Dozens of ideas ran through my head.  Could I argue that it was improper service since the subpoena had been left on my door, and not actually given to a household member?  Could I claim insufficiency of process because I’d received less than 10 hours of actual notice before I was expected to be in court?  Or maybe claim that I wasn’t legally served until the next business day, since I hadn’t been served until after 5 PM?  Or argue that everything I could possibly testify about would be work product, and therefore not subject to disclosure?

It was basically a “fight or flight” response.  My brain went into overdrive, trying to think of ways to either avoid going to court or to make it as difficult as possible for the attorney who “commanded” me to appear.

Which begs the question, why did I have such a hostile reaction to the subpoena?  And more importantly, do our witnesses feel the same way when they receive our subpoenas?

I don’t know if my reactions will be similar to your witnesses’ reactions when they receive a subpoena, but in hopes of giving you a little insight, here are three reasons why I had such a negative reaction to my subpoena (and some tips on how to get better reactions from your witnesses).

1. Subpoenas Have Negative Connotations. Before your witness even reads the subpoena, his immediate reaction is, “Uh oh, this isn’t going to be good.”

Remember the Black Spot from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island? When the Black Spot was placed in the hand of a pirate, it meant that he had been adjudged “Guilty” and was marked for execution.  Obviously, receiving the Black Spot was a source of much anxiety.

A subpoena feels like the modern day equivalent of the Black Spot.  When you’re served with a subpoena, it feels like you’ve been marked.  Maybe not marked for death, but you know that subpoenas rarely come bearing good news.  No one ever subpoenas you because they want to guarantee you’ll show up at their birthday party.

2. Subpoenas Threaten You. When I get invited to formal affairs, the invitation usually reads, “We request the pleasure of your company” or “You are cordially invited to join us.”  When I get those types of invitations, I’m always eager to attend the event.

But my subpoena didn’t say anything like that.  They didn’t “request” my appearance or “invite” me to attend.  Instead, they said “YOU ARE COMMANDED to appear,” “you shall respond to this subpoena as directed,” and “IF YOU FAIL TO APPEAR, YOU MAY BE IN CONTEMPT OF COURT.” They even capitalized the phrases, to add the extra indignity of shouting at me from the printed page.  I don’t know about you, but I’m an independent spirit.  Whenever someone “commands” me to do something (even things I want to do), it gets my hackles up, because I bristle at the notion of being told what to do.

3. Lack of Professional Courtesy. The attorney who subpoenaed me wasn’t a stranger.  In fact, not only did I know him, but we had even worked together in the same office when we were criminal prosecutors!  Maybe we weren’t best friends, but still, you’d think he could extend me the courtesy of a telephone call telling me to expect the subpoena and why I was being called as a witness.  Frankly, he didn’t need a subpoena to secure my appearance — if he’d asked, I’d have shown.

Add all of this stuff together and what do you get?  Someone who probably won’t be in a great mood by the time he arrives in court to testify.

But that’s the exact opposite of what you want, isn’t it?  You don’t want a witness who’s upset and angry with you.  You want your witnesses to be cooperative and eager to testify.  You want them at their best when they arrive for court, right?

Here are a few tips that will help you improve the subpoena experience for your witnesses.

1. Tell him he’s a witness BEFORE the process server arrives. You don’t want him learning that he’s a witness in your case when he’s served with the subpoena.  Everything’s easier to deal with if we can plan for it in advance, so call him ahead of time so he can expect the subpoena, rather than being surprised by the process server.

2. Don’t wait until the last minute. Your witness has a life.  Even though this case may be the most important thing in your life and your client’s life, it’s NOT not the most important thing in the witness’s life.  Think what would have happened if I’d walked in through the back door of the house or if I’d extended my trip another day – I wouldn’t have known to be in court the next morning.  If my testimony was essential to his case, he’d be out of luck.  Don’t wait until the last moment to serve your witnesses – it may be too late.

3. Tell him when he’s actually needed. One reason why I was offended by the lack of communication from his office was because I knew I didn’t really need to be there when the subpoena was commanding me to appear.  Unless it was a bench trial with no pre-trial issues and they were waving opening statements (it wasn’t), when a trial is scheduled to begin at 8:30 AM Monday morning, you don’t actually need your witnesses there until later in the day.  But unless you’re excused from appearing, you need to be in court when the subpoena commands you to be there.  Since I obviously couldn’t contact his office at 10 PM on a Sunday night, I knew I’d be stuck going to court the next morning, even though I probably wasn’t needed until later in the week.

Your subpoena probably tells the witness to be there for the entire trial period, and lists the beginning date and time for the trial.  Rather than forcing the witness to unnecessarily rearrange his schedule, tell him when he really needs to be in court.

4. Let the witness know why you’ve listed him. Witnesses do better when they have time to prepare and know why they’re being called.  Since the attorney hadn’t given me the courtesy of a telephone call, I had no idea why I was listed as a witness in the case.  When I walked into court the next morning, I was going to be a lousy witness, because I didn’t have a chance to prepare.

If you want your witnesses to be prepared for trial and to testify at their best, spend some time in a pre-trial interview.  Obviously, 99% of the time, you’re going to do extensive pre-trial preparation with your witnesses, but sometimes (like with police officers or other professional witnesses), you might think you can put them on “auto-pilot” and let them testify.  Don’t be tempted to do it.  I guarantee you that none of your witnesses has as much courtroom experience as I do, but despite all those thousands of hours of court time, I still wanted to talk with someone before trial so I’d know what was expected from me.

Hopefully these tips will give you a little insight into what it’s like to be on the receiving end of a subpoena, so you can be a little more empathetic to your witness’s experience.  Good luck!