Filing a Witness List in Small Claims Court

[GreatGadsby]

can anyone tell me if this is sufficient for a witness list? the highlighted parts i blocked the specific information for privacy's sake, but listed what type of information was there.

i'm especially interested in #2 is me, but it lists me as Mrs. my boyfriends name @ his work address, and with his phone number. obiously not correct

#3 has only a name, city and phone #
#4 has only a first name, no contact information whatsoever
#5 has only a first name and the city, he could be anybody
#6 is a nickname and employment address

do these count? isn't the point of a witness list to give the opposing side an opportunity to research them to possibly discredit them as witnesses? how can you possibly do that when u have no clue who they are ?

here's the link to the scanned image: thanks for looking

http://www.geocities.com/er_medic/witness.jpg

[Mr. Knowitall]

If you don't fulfill all of the requirements for a witness list, you risk having your witnesses excluded. If you comply to the best of your ability, and update the list as more information becomes known, you reduce the chance that certain witnesses will be excluded.

[GreatGadsby]

is there a motion we can file to exclude the witnesses with very little information, or do we just object when the def. tries to call them in court, or is it something the judge will just decide on his own ?

[Mr. Knowitall]

Possibilities are a motion to strike the witness list (for being in improper form), or a motion to strike or exclude witnesses not properly identified on the witness list. Do you have a copy of the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure? If not, get one here.

[GreatGadsby]

you guys are my favorite people! Yes, I have a copy of that and the small claims rules as well. I just find them difficult to navigate sometimes. thanks for all your help.

[GreatGadsby]

is there a separate set of rules somewhere for witnesses? the only thing i can find in the rules for civil proc. is for depo's and expert witnesses. it says when taking a depo by phone, the witness has to be sworn in by someone who's is physically with the witness and who is authorized to swear people in. would this be like a notary? does the same rule apply to someone testifying in open court by telephone?

[Mr. Knowitall]

is there a separate set of rules somewhere for witnesses?

Not unless you mean those Rules of Evidence which pertain to witness testimony.

the only thing i can find in the rules for civil proc. is for depo's and expert witnesses. it says when taking a depo by phone, the witness has to be sworn in by someone who's is physically with the witness and who is authorized to swear people in. would this be like a notary?

It may well be a notary, or a court reporter. The scope of who would be authorized to swear in a witness is likely to vary to some degree by state. The rule you describe is presumably intended to make sure that the witness is lawfully sworn in (and thus at least in theory subject to prosecution for perjury) in the jurisdiction where the testmony is given.

does the same rule apply to someone testifying in open court by telephone?

The court admitting the testimony would normally have to authorize the giving of any testimony by telephone in advance of the hearing. The order might dictate how the witness is to be sworn in. I don't know your state's procedure, but it seems reasonable to assume that the court would follow a procedure similar to (or the same as) the deposition rule.