OP
OP
ScotiaLass
Guru
- Location
- Middle Earth
Thanks. I'm not one for chit chat with people I don't know so that should be fine!
Called as a witness - help
- Thread starter ScotiaLass
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I suggest you get in touch then and explain, again, this is something they will have dealt with before and will tailor the process to tske account if necessary.
OP
OP
ScotiaLass
Guru
- Location
- Middle Earth
[QUOTE 3627256, member: 9609"]I got called as a witness once, my entire input was to say that I had seen him walking down the stairs - it was all so important we had to cancel a long awaited for holiday. I was told that if I didn't show I could be the one getting sent to prison!!!! A week or so before the set date I was told it was all off as he had changed his plea to guilty. I have since vowed to keep my neb out of things.[/QUOTE]
I had that exact thought when reading the info and summons.
But, it could have been kids that seen his behaviour and who knows where that type of behaviour leads next?
I had that exact thought when reading the info and summons.
But, it could have been kids that seen his behaviour and who knows where that type of behaviour leads next?
shouldbeinbed
Rollin' along
- Location
- Manchester way
Part of my day job- Engilish jurisdiction, so may be a few procedural differences but will DM later when back at home & easier to do so.
Absolutely - our justice system relies on people like you (and me) to do the right thing. Thank you.
Archie_tect
De Skieven Architek... aka Penfold + Horace
- Location
- Northumberland
Hope it goes well SL... I'm sure you'll be a great witness.
Tin Pot
Guru
One word of caution - don't post anything about the case here.
Probably obvious, but you know
I back up what Andy said. I've worked in courts also, although English court so the format may be different but the tactics won't be.
Prosecution will ask you questions first and then the Defence. Stick to the question asked and follow these guidelines:
Answer only the question asked with the facts you know. Don't be tempted to embellish the facts or state your opinion, that's not what you are there for. The Defence may ask you repeat similar questions, to try to confuse you. Only answer with fact. If you didn't see, say so. If they imply you saw it another way, state clearly what you saw.
Don't be tempted to fill in the silence. Defence barristers often pause in order to get the witness to say more. Humans do not like awkward silence and this is a tactic used by the Defence to get the witness to warble on. Once you have answered a question, shut up and wait for the next one.
If while you are answering, they interrupt you to ask another question (another defence tactic) don't get flustered. Stop talking until they have stopped asking and then ask the judge if it is ok to answer the first question first. If you then can't remember it, ask them to repeat it.
If you don't understand a question, say so. If you still don't understand when they repeat it, tell the judge (sheriff?)
Stay calm, it is not you on trial and the whole case will not fall solely on your shoulders
Prosecution will ask you questions first and then the Defence. Stick to the question asked and follow these guidelines:
Answer only the question asked with the facts you know. Don't be tempted to embellish the facts or state your opinion, that's not what you are there for. The Defence may ask you repeat similar questions, to try to confuse you. Only answer with fact. If you didn't see, say so. If they imply you saw it another way, state clearly what you saw.
Don't be tempted to fill in the silence. Defence barristers often pause in order to get the witness to say more. Humans do not like awkward silence and this is a tactic used by the Defence to get the witness to warble on. Once you have answered a question, shut up and wait for the next one.
If while you are answering, they interrupt you to ask another question (another defence tactic) don't get flustered. Stop talking until they have stopped asking and then ask the judge if it is ok to answer the first question first. If you then can't remember it, ask them to repeat it.
If you don't understand a question, say so. If you still don't understand when they repeat it, tell the judge (sheriff?)
Stay calm, it is not you on trial and the whole case will not fall solely on your shoulders
Pale Rider
Legendary Member
Some good advice already given.
You will give your prosecution evidence first - that's the friendly bit.
You will then be cross-examined - that could be the unfriendly bit, but defence barristers have to be careful, 'beasting' a witness, particularly a civilian one , does not sit well with a jury.
The judge - sheriff - will intervene if things get really nasty.
Mention will likely be made of your police statement - transcripts will be in court.
The prosecutor may refer to it, but it's more likely the defence barrister will try to catch you out by highlighting a difference in your statement to what you said in court.
No problem, you will be given a copy to refresh your memory.
The simplest answer is something along the lines of: "My statement was taken much nearer the time, so my recollection then is likely to be more accurate."
That answer also has the benefit of being very likely true.
Keep the defence barrister lean, don't say a word more than you have to, even if your natural inclination is to be more chatty.
You are not on trial, you are playing an invaluable role in assisting the administration of justice
.
You will give your prosecution evidence first - that's the friendly bit.
You will then be cross-examined - that could be the unfriendly bit, but defence barristers have to be careful, 'beasting' a witness, particularly a civilian one , does not sit well with a jury.
The judge - sheriff - will intervene if things get really nasty.
Mention will likely be made of your police statement - transcripts will be in court.
The prosecutor may refer to it, but it's more likely the defence barrister will try to catch you out by highlighting a difference in your statement to what you said in court.
No problem, you will be given a copy to refresh your memory.
The simplest answer is something along the lines of: "My statement was taken much nearer the time, so my recollection then is likely to be more accurate."
That answer also has the benefit of being very likely true.
Keep the defence barrister lean, don't say a word more than you have to, even if your natural inclination is to be more chatty.
You are not on trial, you are playing an invaluable role in assisting the administration of justice
.
swee'pea99
Legendary Member
Excellent advice above. Only thing I'd add is what I told my daughter when she had her first mocks: when you see the question, don't rush. Take a deep breath. Count to three. Pause. Then speak. There's no rush.
And as someone said above, get ready to appreciate what should actually be quite an interesting experience! There's probably going to be quite a lot of boredom & hanging around involved, but along with that, it's quite interesting to see how the whole process works, in the flesh. I've never been a witness, but I remember jury service as one of the more 'stand out' weeks of my life.
And as someone said above, get ready to appreciate what should actually be quite an interesting experience! There's probably going to be quite a lot of boredom & hanging around involved, but along with that, it's quite interesting to see how the whole process works, in the flesh. I've never been a witness, but I remember jury service as one of the more 'stand out' weeks of my life.
OP
OP
ScotiaLass
Guru
- Location
- Middle Earth
I knowOne word of caution - don't post anything about the case here.
Probably obvious, but you know
I chose to say enough that people could understand the jist of it.Couple of things that others might have missed
- Do not discuss the case in this or any other forum if your identity can be ascertained online. Some lawyers do background checks
- The court is patient and will give you as much time to answer the questions put to you
- You can ask the lawyers on both sides and the magistrate / judge to repeat or rephrase the question that do not understand
- You can confidently say that you do not know the answer to a question if that is the case.
- You are not required to look at the accused, just face the judge if you are feeling uncomfortable they are trained to watch your cues.
- Really important!! - bring along sweets, munchies, magazines in a bag. ( munch way discreetly) as sitting in the witness is no different to watching paint dry
- Don't worry about the court formalities - thats not your concern its for the lawyers. staff et. Be yourself
CopperCyclist
Veteran
As you may imagine, I've been called to court numerous times. As a guess I'd say about 30 or 40 times? It may therefore surprise you to know that I've only actually had to give evidence about 4 or 5 times. Most of the time they plead not guilty, hoping to strike a deal on the day, or hoping witnesses don't turn up.
If you want a prediction for your job, I predict that he will plead guilty to a lesser charge on the day (do they have the public order act in Scotland?) and you won't even get called.
If you do get called, it's nothing to worry about - honestly! The lawyer on 'your side' (in this case I think the prosecution) will normally walk you through what they want you to say with mostly 'yes/no' answers - I. E. They say "is it true on 12th October 2014 you were in Pretty Park with your husband?" rather than "Where were you? Who were you with?". This is usually only not true when they want more detail and can't lead you - I. E. "and how did that make you feel?"
If you can answer a question with "yes" or "no" then do so.
When the defence ask their questions, they normally want one of two things - they want to discredit your evidence, or they want you to confirm something that assists their defence.
If they want you to assist their defence, it's easy - just be honest, and don't over think anything - listen carefully to the question and be truthful. Its for the court to decide on the whole picture later. "Is it true when you arrived that my client wasn't holding the knife?" "Yes."
If they want to undermine you, they won't be as nasty as the movies portray. They usually just ask the same question a few times to see if they can get any hesitation from you "let me thank you for being here - I'm sure it was a stressful situation am I right? You didn't seem sure when you said you saw him kick him three times - are you 100 percent convinced?" "are you sure it couldn't have been twice? Is there anything else you may have got wrong because of the stress you felt? " Just be a stuck record and don't let them sway you from what you know the truth is. When you've calmly answered the same question three times the judge /magistrate tends to speak up and ask them to move on.
Your Aspergers would qualify you in English courts for consideration of special measures, so it's worth contacting them to ask about that.
Good luck, let us know how it goes, and if no one on the day says it - thank you. Without people being willing to stand up for the rights of society, our society lets the guilty go free to do the same again - so genuinely, well done.
If you want a prediction for your job, I predict that he will plead guilty to a lesser charge on the day (do they have the public order act in Scotland?) and you won't even get called.
If you do get called, it's nothing to worry about - honestly! The lawyer on 'your side' (in this case I think the prosecution) will normally walk you through what they want you to say with mostly 'yes/no' answers - I. E. They say "is it true on 12th October 2014 you were in Pretty Park with your husband?" rather than "Where were you? Who were you with?". This is usually only not true when they want more detail and can't lead you - I. E. "and how did that make you feel?"
If you can answer a question with "yes" or "no" then do so.
When the defence ask their questions, they normally want one of two things - they want to discredit your evidence, or they want you to confirm something that assists their defence.
If they want you to assist their defence, it's easy - just be honest, and don't over think anything - listen carefully to the question and be truthful. Its for the court to decide on the whole picture later. "Is it true when you arrived that my client wasn't holding the knife?" "Yes."
If they want to undermine you, they won't be as nasty as the movies portray. They usually just ask the same question a few times to see if they can get any hesitation from you "let me thank you for being here - I'm sure it was a stressful situation am I right? You didn't seem sure when you said you saw him kick him three times - are you 100 percent convinced?" "are you sure it couldn't have been twice? Is there anything else you may have got wrong because of the stress you felt? " Just be a stuck record and don't let them sway you from what you know the truth is. When you've calmly answered the same question three times the judge /magistrate tends to speak up and ask them to move on.
Your Aspergers would qualify you in English courts for consideration of special measures, so it's worth contacting them to ask about that.
Good luck, let us know how it goes, and if no one on the day says it - thank you. Without people being willing to stand up for the rights of society, our society lets the guilty go free to do the same again - so genuinely, well done.
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