I had a reality check the other day with one of my clients. This was a very confident, established person who was dragged into a court battle.
I had told them to meet me at the courthouse, just inside the doors, just past security. I watched them come in and pass by the detectors, grab their belongings and walk towards me. Their face was a little pale and they looked scared. I was then reminded how intimidating the courthouse could be.
This is what I do for a living and attending courthouses and tribunals are something I do sometimes on a daily basis and I had forgotten what it could be like for someone who doesn’t attended regularly or has even attended at all!
So, to all of you that now have to attend court or may have to attend court, let me tell you a bit about what your experience may be like.
Most, not all, courthouses have security at the door. There will be officers that will ask you to put your belongings in a container and will put everything through an x-ray machine. You will have to empty your pockets, don’t worry, you won’t have to take your shoes off! You will have to walk through a metal detector and if it goes off you will be frisked with a wand. You will then get your belongings and be welcomed to a bustling courthouse.
If you are on your own and haven’t been given instructions where to go, every courthouse has a bulletin board or an information desk where all of the proceeding for that day will be listed. Now, I practice in Small Claims so all of the courthouses I go to also cater to family law, civil litigation and sometimes criminal. A list of what cases will be heard will be there. You will have to look at the top of the “docket” for what forum the list is for, i.e. family, small claims court. Once you have narrowed it down you can look for your matter and find the courtroom number it is associated with.
If you still can’t find it – it has happened to me several times! – then ask for assistance from the nearest uniformed person. These uniformed individuals are called Court Services Officers and are very helpful. They will point you to the nearest person who can answer your question.
I mostly practice in Oshawa. The courthouse is absolutely beautiful and once you walk in to your left you will find a Timmies! Small Claims in Oshawa is always on the fifth floor and usually in either courtroom 508 or courtroom 509.
