When you are called to testify, you move to the front of the courtroom near the judge and the clerk has you swear to tell the truth. You must tell the truth when testifying. Lying in court is a crime called perjury , and you can be sentenced with a jail term of up to 14 years. If you make a mistake, tell the lawyer who subpoenaed you and they will make sure your error is corrected in court. The lawyers will start with some simple questions about you and try to determine what you know about the alleged crime.
Make sure your answers are based on what you actually saw and heard, and not on what you think probably happened - it's ok to say that you don't know. Do not give opinions unless one of the lawyers asks you to.
It can be difficult to testify in court; usually the accused is in the courtroom, and you could be asked questions that make you uncomfortable such as the details of the alleged crime. The judge decides whether or not you have to answer the lawyers' questions. If you refuse to answer a question that the judge allows, you can be found in contempt of court and sent to jail for a short time.
Most criminal proceedings are open to the public, and your testimony is recorded on the court transcript. It depends on the evidence in the case. You might as well try to get my client for something, otherwise you could lose everything. Sometimes and defense has to kind of take a little bit of a risk and say wait a minute, they may get those witnesses and if they do my client could be looking at a lot of time and a lot of bad charges against him, so now is the time strike.
Sometimes people are lazy, sometimes people have other things to do. Sometimes the prosecutors can request a continuance and say, we need these witnesses Your Honor. With so much at stake, prosecutors will do everything they can to ensure victims and witnesses appear in court and accurately describe their experiences. One common way prosecutors get witnesses to appear in court is by issuing a subpoena, a court order requiring a person to testify as a witness or produce documents that can be used as evidence of a crime.
There are two types of subpoenas: Subpoena ad testificandum and subpoena duces tecum. In this case, we will focus on subpoena ad testificandum, a type of subpoena that requires a person to go to court and testify as a witness. With this in mind, if you received a subpoena to testify as a witness in court, or a subpoena ad testificandum , you are required by law to appear and testify.
This is a crime. In some cases, a witness who refuses to testify after being served with a subpoena could face contempt charges and be subjected to certain criminal penalties, including fines and even jail time. A subpoena is a court order directing a witness to appear and give evidence in a court proceeding. The specific facts of your situation will dictate what happens.
Continue reading to learn more, or contact the Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys at Stephen G. There are several reasons why a victim may not want to testify against a defendant. Fear is a major reason and love is another, or perhaps a combination of both. Some victims who are asked to testify are either married to or in a relationship with the defendant and may have children with that person. If that person is convicted and sentenced to prison, the victim would fear retribution by that person and if that same person is deported, the victim could lose their means of support.
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