Required at Court?

photome

boo_star wrote: »

You are required to go to court, so go.

It's not that difficult.

It obviously is for the OP

LadyDee

Think of it as doing a public service, something useful, helping somebody. I was the only witness to a road accident many years ago, and without my evidence the wrong person could have got the blame.

It might be that one day you have need of a stranger's help.

worried_jim

LadyDee wrote: »

Think of it as doing a public service, something useful, helping somebody. I was the only witness to a road accident many years ago, and without my evidence the wrong person could have got the blame.

It might be that one day you have need of a stranger's help.

Yes- it's your civil duty. You now get to contribute to help build our society and community. I was a little nervous when I did it but I found it fascinating.

pmduk

Why make the court system go to the trouble and expense of issuing a summons? If you're needed a summons will be issued, so just go without the hassle. Hopefully, it won't take too long.

K80_Black

Another person here who has been to court as a witness. It was very well managed by witness protection and I felt well looked after. I witnessed an assault which the person denied, and I was glad to help set the story straight.

I realise it's a very scary thing, but at least when I went, they did everything they could to keep me nice and calm - things like looking round the courtroom while it was empty, and explaining where everyone would be when it had people in really helped me.

Magistrates courts are quite different to what you might think of if you imagine a 'court'. There's just a magistrate or district judge, some barristers, other witnesses and the accused (who in my case didn't even show up...) - there's not a jury or anything like that. I think at mine, there was only about 5 people in the room.

Ultimately, the worst thing that could happen if you don't attend is that the crime you witnessed goes unpunished.

DoaM

K80_Black wrote: »

Ultimately, the worst thing that could happen if you don't attend is that the crime you witnessed goes unpunished.

Technically the worst thing is that you could be held in contempt of court, and so be cautioned (most likely), fined (possibly) or handed a jail sentence or community service order (unlikely), depending on the severity of the case in question.

I've never been in the "witness" position (I've been called for jury duty though), but I know someone who had to attend court as a witness (she was the victim of a stalker/victim of technical assault) - she found the whole thing largely underwhelming, even though she was the key prosecution witness.

K80_Black

DoaM wrote: »

Technically the worst thing is that you could be held in contempt of court, and so be cautioned (most likely), fined (possibly) or handed a jail sentence or community service order (unlikely), depending on the severity of the case in question.

That's a very selfish view to take, again depending on the crime.

hollydays

This is a very good video
Great advice here.
A lot of people don't realise, if you are aske a question you don't know the answer to, it's perfectly fine, to think about it and say" I don't know"

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QsbXLImbU80

DoaM

K80_Black wrote: »

That's a very selfish view to take, again depending on the crime.

Selfish? I take offence at the suggestion, as there was NOTHING in my previous reply to warrant that assumption.

I was merely indicating that your suggestion of "the worst thing that could happen if you don't attend is that the crime you witnessed goes unpunished" was potentially bad advice ... if the court has required your attendance then you must attend (unless you have a really good - and acceptable to the court - reason why you can't); failure to abide by the wishes of the court could lead to a Contempt of Court charge.

K80_Black

DoaM wrote: »

Selfish? I take offence at the suggestion, as there was NOTHING in my previous reply to warrant that assumption.

I was merely indicating that your suggestion of "the worst thing that could happen if you don't attend is that the crime you witnessed goes unpunished" was potentially bad advice ... if the court has required your attendance then you must attend (unless you have a really good - and acceptable to the court - reason why you can't); failure to abide by the wishes of the court could lead to a Contempt of Court charge.

IMO the assault I witnessed going unpunished would be worse than me getting a fine. I'm trying to help the OP remember why they gave a witness statement to the police in the first place. They saw something wrong happening, and wanted to help make it right. I'm not denying that contempt of court is a thing, I'm just saying in the grand scheme of things, the bad guys getting away with it is worse.