I was served a witness subpoena for an upcoming court case and am curious about a few things. The accused is up on charges of theft - so I imagine this won't be a marathon of a case. That said, I'd like to get an idea of how long I might be required to stay in court that day. I'm required to be there mid-afternoon - so would it be safe to assume I'll be out of there within a few hours? Or could it go well into the evening?
Also, is this something I need to dress up for? Shirt and tie sort of thing?
My court experience is limited to what I see on TV, so I have no idea what to expect...
The lawyer that supeona'd you should cover that all. Yes dress professionally, you're there from the time they tell you to arrive, until they say they're done with you. If you are a key witness there's a chance that you might be there for part of the next day.
I was a witness in one case, and I wasn't a great witness because the crime had taken place years before and I was fuzzy on it, I told the prosecutor that I was fuzzy and it didn't matter to her, I was a check mark.
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How long you are actually there could be affected by a lot of factors.
1. The nature of the evidence and the case. How key is your evidence to the case and is there room for contradiction? This will dictate how long the defence lawyer will want to cross-examine you.
2. Scheduling. It's often hard to predict how trial will actually run. So some parts of the trial could run long. You might have to wait there all afternoon, only to find out there won't be time until the next day to actually get on the stand.
Court typically does not go well into the evening, unless it's some kind of emergency issue. Most court close at around 4:30 PM. The staff and judges want to go home too.
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How long you are actually there could be affected by a lot of factors.
1. The nature of the evidence and the case. How key is your evidence to the case and is there room for contradiction? This will dictate how long the defence lawyer will want to cross-examine you.
2. Scheduling. It's often hard to predict how trial will actually run. So some parts of the trial could run long. You might have to wait there all afternoon, only to find out there won't be time until the next day to actually get on the stand.
Court typically does not go well into the evening, unless it's some kind of emergency issue. Most court close at around 4:30 PM. The staff and judges want to go home too.
Point number 2 is especially true. I had to take time off work to go down to the courthouse in the afternoon. I waited around outside the courtroom for a couple of hours only to be told they couldn't call me as a witness that day. Went back the next week, waited around a couple of hours before being called. My actual time on the witness stand was probably less than an hour and I totally did not help the plaintiffs case. Coincidentally, she was the one who served me with a subpoena that I valiantly avoided for months. She showed up on my doorstep one day and served me.
I was subpoena'd as a witness to some car vanadalizations a few years ago. I had just moved into the neighbourhood and some kids were driving down the road and the first time they egged a bunch of cars, the second time they smashed my rear window and the third time they smashed my driver's side-view mirror.
Theres more to the overall story, but this is why I had to go to court.
Somebody eventually caught the little idiots but in the meantime between them being caught and prosecuted my car was destroyed in an unrelated incident, ironically once again parked right outside my house. (I have photos)
Anyways, the crappy Court thing was that I was required to be present as a witness.
The lawyer was abrupt and rude. I had called her office requesting to be excused from having to appear for the following reasons that I felt were quite reasonable:
1. I didnt see or witness anything, I was merely a victim.
2. My vehicle was destroyed in an unrelated incident before I effected any repairs and it was made clear to me that I was thus not entitled to any restitution or compensation whatsoever.
3. I was leaving on a holiday for Mexico that afternoon.
Nope. I had to be there. Had to. Absolute must. If I didnt show up I'd be in contempt of court or some such nonsense. The critical witness who didnt see a damned thing?
Anyways, I was there for about 3 hours, I guess the kids pled guilty or something and then I was made to wait around for a couple more hours before they let me leave.
I was pretty choked. I mean, I get it, and I'm willing to do my part, but I didnt see anything, I couldnt testify to anything, I wasnt eligible for any compensation or restitution, the vehicle they vandalized didnt even exist anymore, and I'm trying to go on vacation after, you can somewhat see, a pretty rough few months.
Why make me jump through hoops for no reason?
So, yeah, that was my experience.
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My one big regret about being a witness was not being a completely beligerant jerk face, so I could hear the famous phrase "You're honor permission to treat him as a hostile witness"
Lawyer - "So where were you on the night in question"
CaptainCrunch - "I was 'on' your wife . . . booom"
runs down the jury box throwing high fives.
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I witnessed an double attempted murder and and had to testify in court. I showed up half an hour before I was scheduled to go in (they picked a specific time I was to be in the courtroom), the process took about 15 minutes, and then I left. There were other witnesses before and after me, so it was regimented and controlled.
The whole process was super nerve-wracking, of course. I tried to bail out of the witness process by calling the judge but they said I was subpoenaed so I have no choice, and if I no-showed there'd be a warrant out for my arrest for obstruction of justice. Not a fun experience, all in all.
I'm not sure why you'd be nervous if nothing is on the line for you. Just show up and answer the questions honestly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by blankall
2. Scheduling. It's often hard to predict how trial will actually run. So some parts of the trial could run long. You might have to wait there all afternoon, only to find out there won't be time until the next day to actually get on the stand.
This is true and it's no one's fault, really. It's impossible to tell how these things will go, in either direction. I had a matter once where I was ready for multiple days straight of my witnesses being cross examined, only to have, each time, the other side stand up and say "no questions". Given how much time we spent on cross prep, they were pretty annoyed.
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I'm not sure why you'd be nervous if nothing is on the line for you. Just show up and answer the questions honestly.
Ok, then maybe you should try standing up in court, testifying in front of an attempted murderer being charged in the middle of a gang-related court case, where your personal information is read out to the courtroom as as witness.
If you haven't been in that position, maybe it's best not to comment. Hindsight sure is easy from behind a keyboard and monitor isn't it?
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I'm not sure why you'd be nervous if nothing is on the line for you. Just show up and answer the questions honestly.
This is true and it's no one's fault, really. It's impossible to tell how these things will go, in either direction. I had a matter once where I was ready for multiple days straight of my witnesses being cross examined, only to have, each time, the other side stand up and say "no questions". Given how much time we spent on cross prep, they were pretty annoyed.
Their plan was probably to bankrupt your client by racking up your billable hours.
There was zero chance that would happen... also we managed to beat the settlement offer that was on the table by eight figures, so that'll pay for a few billable hours.
__________________ "The great promise of the Internet was that more information would automatically yield better decisions. The great disappointment is that more information actually yields more possibilities to confirm what you already believed anyway." - Brian Eno
I was served with a subpoena once to go in as a witness to a drunk driving incident that I witnessed.
I showed up at the scheduled time and was told that the trial was moved to another day and that whoever served me with the subpoena should have told me that.
I got the new date and showed up on that day, too, only to be told again that the trial was moved and no one let me know.
Finally, I showed up on the third trial date and went to the courtroom. The clerk or the judge asked if I had any business there and I told her what trial I was there for as a witness. She said ok and asked me to wait outside.
I waited outside the courtroom on a bench for about 2 1/2 hours before the crown prosecutor came out and said the defence had the case thrown out because of some issue of disclosure. Thanks for my time. The arresting officer who was sitting beside me just shrugged and said, "Most of the time, that's how these things go."
Ever been to court?
