Domestic

SuzieSue

UserName01 wrote: »

I would of thought so but I didn't see because it was dark, he drove off immediately and I had the glass shatter in my face so turned my head the opposite way. It did look as though he only used his fist but he could of had a glove on or something in his hand if he had this planned.

Yes, he probably did wear gloves if it was planned, but has the glass in your car been tested for DNA in case he didn't?

UserName01_2

SuzieSue wrote: »

Yes, he probably did wear gloves if it was planned, but has the glass in your car been tested for DNA in case he didn't?

No, the police were only interested in the blood in my car but I knew this was from my injuries as it was only on my steering wheel.

When the officer took me over to where the incident happend, she said there was no point collecting the broken glass from the road to see if it matched my car as it had been over 24 hours and the weather changes something - not quite sure what she meant. I am not even sure why she would want to match it to my car, I am not going to lie about where it happened and she could even see all the broken glass on the road. She didn't mention collecting the glass from my car for DNA.

RAS

UserName01 wrote: »

I am worried about attending court as I am not confident enough to stand up in front of everyone to read out what happened and answer questions.

The prosecution lawyer will probably read out your evidence and then ask you to elaborate if needed. Usually judges are pretty good if you start to feel nervous or struggle to answer a question.

"Everyone" will probably be the jury, judge and four lawyers plus a court attendent. Otherwise most courts have very few people in them.

My guess is that your ex expects you to fail to turn up which will mean he is aquitted. If he sees you in the mwitness box he may well decide to change his plea to guilty in the hope of getting a reduced sentence.

UserName01_2

RAS wrote: »

"Everyone" will probably be the jury, judge and four lawyers plus a court attendent. Otherwise most courts have very few people in them.

My guess is that your ex expects you to fail to turn up which will mean he is aquitted. If he sees you in the mwitness box he may well decide to change his plea to guilty in the hope of getting a reduced sentence.

The court is open to the public so anyone can attend. I imagine he will have all his friends and family there for support too.

I will definitely be attending court but very worried about speaking out. I have lost all my confidence through the abuse I have suffered the past two year so standing up in front of everyone to read out my evidence and answer questions will be intensely distressing, I have been in tears just thinking about it. It has never been off my mind since I got the court date through so hope it is playing on his mind too.

RAS

UserName01 wrote: »

The court is open to the public so anyone can attend. I imagine he will have all his friends and family there for support too.

As previously advised, as VS to arrange that you give evidence behind a screen. That will shield you from his friends and family and him.

Mojisola

UserName01 wrote: »

I will definitely be attending court but very worried about speaking out. I have lost all my confidence through the abuse I have suffered the past two year so standing up in front of everyone to read out my evidence and answer questions will be intensely distressing, I have been in tears just thinking about it. It has never been off my mind since I got the court date through so hope it is playing on his mind too.

It can be very intimidating because he will have undermined your confidence over the years you have been together.

Humour is a very good way of reclaiming your power. When you start thinking about him, imagine him shrinking down to the size of a garden gnome with a big beard and a pointy hat, standing in the court talking with a high-pitched, squeaky voice (or any other image that makes you laugh - just find something that reduces his dominance).

Also, imagine the court with you standing up, looking good and sounding strong while you give your evidence. If you practice that, it will start to reflect in your body language and that will feed back and improve your confidence.

Good luck. You're being very brave.

Yorkie1

If the trial is in January, then it will be at the magistrates' court. There will be no jury (that's the Crown Court). At the mags' court, there will be either one professional magistrate or 3 lay magistrates (who are legally advised by the court clerk). There will be one solicitor for the prosecution and one for the defence. Plus your ex and, as you say, the public.

If you do not attend, one of three things will happen. (1) The prosecution will ask for a court summons to force you to attend. (2) The prosecution will ask for your evidence to be read instead of you attending. I think this application is very unlikely to succeed, so don't get your hopes up. (3) The case will be thrown out.

Your best bet is, as previously suggested, to ask the police / prosecution to apply for special measure for you (evidence by live link or from behind a screen).

An assault case is charged according to level of seriousness. I suspect that he is currently charged with common assault, as your injuries were initially expected to be healed quickly and did not need significant medical intervention. As they are not healing quickly, and (worst case scenario - let's pray it doesn't come to this) may need surgery / cause permanent damage, then the police / prosecution really really need to know this so that the level of charge can be revisited and further medical evidence obtained.

I think you're doing really well. Keep your chin up!

UserName01_2

Yorkie1 wrote: »

An assault case is charged according to level of seriousness. I suspect that he is currently charged with common assault, as your injuries were initially expected to be healed quickly and did not need significant medical intervention. As they are not healing quickly, and (worst case scenario - let's pray it doesn't come to this) may need surgery / cause permanent damage, then the police / prosecution really really need to know this so that the level of charge can be revisited and further medical evidence obtained.

I think you're doing really well. Keep your chin up!

He has been charged with assault by beating which I believe is another name for common assault. The eye infirmary expected the scratch/scar on my eye to heal within 5 - 7 days but 14 days on and it is no better. It is that bad that I can see it clearly when looking in the mirror.

There could be tiny glass fragments in my eye which none of the nurses or doctor can see and an x-ray wouldn't pick this up, so I was told they will have to remove my eye to clean it (I'm terrified of this and cringing at the thought of it). I spent three hours in A&E at the eye infirmary to get a second and third opinion then to see a doctor. One of the nurses said she can't say if the blurred vision will be permanent so hoping for a more positive update when I go the end of next week.

Believe it or not, I am still waiting for the officer to call me as I was promised a call back when I spoke to the Police on wednesday evening regarding the text message from his friend. I did miss a blocked call on the Thursday but would of thought it if was the Police that they would have called back by now.

I haven't updated the Police regarding my eye but will do that this week. I am sure they will have already been in touch with the eye infirmary to get details and any further appointments/treatment should be passed over to the Police without me giving further consent?

UserName01_2

A different officer has just been in touch to ask if I feel safe in my home as she will send someone out to look at the locks on the doors and windows etc.

I mentioned that Witness Service & VS have not been in touch although I contacted VS myself. She was surprised they had not contacted me as of yet and gave me details for both which are nearby (the nearest one showing on their website for face to face appointments was 30 miles away).

I told her I was anxious about attending court and standing up to read my evidence and answer questions so she is going to ask the officer dealing with it to give me a call back regarding special measures but she can't promise that the court will agree on special measures.

I asked if my ex partner has pleaded not guilty or no comment but she couldn't see from the notes and explained to me that his solicitor will have told him to no comment all the questions and to do the same at court, hoping that I will retract my statement. When they see that I am not retracting he will likely (hopefully) plead guilty to get a lighter sentence.

SuzieSue

UserName01 wrote: »

I told her I was anxious about attending court and standing up to read my evidence and answer questions so she is going to ask the officer dealing with it to give me a call back regarding special measures but she can't promise that the court will agree on special measures.

It might help if you also speak to VS about special measures as they might be able to put pressure on the court.