QUESTION
How does the process of going to small claims court work?
Asked on Jul 30th, 2020 on Civil Litigation - New Mexico
More details to this question:
I am going to be the plaintiff in small claims court, and I have the option to select a trial by jury instead of just a judge. The defendant is an ex, the father of my kid. I'm uncertain which if I should do trial by jury or not, are there pros and cons?
1 ANSWER
As a general matter, if you want to appeal to emotion in your argument, rather than straight facts and law you would want a jury. In small claims, however, the more important issue is time. If you want to wait around forever and probably have to come back again at least once, ask for a jury. In this pandemic age, I'm not even sure a jury trial would be available, and certianly it would be a logistical nightmare which would take time.
Answered on Jul 31st, 2020 at 8:03 AM