Is it legal to refuse to testify?!...?

Question

I witnessed (sole witness) a car accident involving a nice well-mannered person and a nasty mean person who is also some big city official. I think the good guy was at fault. However, I told the cops that I am not going to say anything and they can all go to hell. Can they legally make me speak? Because if they do I am going to say it is the nasty guy's fault...

Answer 1

If you told the cops that you saw it and they have a report saying that you saw it, they can subpoena you to appear in court and testify.

You do NOT have to say a word while on the witness stand. If you DO talk however, you have to answer the questions. If you do not talk, you will see some jail time.

If the nasty guy's attorneys contact you to ask you to appear in court as a witness, you can always try to shake them down for some cash in exchange for your positive court appearance.

Answer 2

Lets break this down:
Talking to the cops as a witness: Generally, you are not required to and there is not criminal sanctions for refusing to be a witness.

Testify in court: If you are subpoenaed to testify in court, failing to show up or refusing to testify means the judge can hold you in contempt. He can imprison you or fine you or both, but seeing how this is a traffic offense it is unlikely you would go to jail.

Testifying falsely: this is perjury. You can be charged by the prosecutor and fined or imprisoned if found guilty. Unlike contempt, no punishment until you have had a trial of you own.

If you can't remember something, your statement to the police can be admitted as evidence.

Bottom line: if you already spoke to the cops, you have to testify to what you said. Honesty and integrity are much more important then serving personal justice. Besides, who you thought was as fault is irrelevant, you will only be allowed to testify to what you witnessed, not your opinion.

--Z--

Answer 3

I don't know about the legalities of trying to get you to testify, but lying under oath is called perjury and can get you into a lot of trouble.

Also, something to consider: if you lie, there are two other people who will know that you lied: the parties to the accident. If the nice guy really is a nice guy, he's going to "out" you in your lie. Because nice people do not approve of liars, even liars who are trying to help them by lying.

And the nasty guy, if he really is nasty, is most likely going to think that you are lying in the hopes that you can make something out of it from him. (Nasty unscrupulous people have a way of thinking other people are all nasty and unscrupulous, and therefore imputing nasty unscrupulous motives to others.) He's going to see you as someone who holds something over him that gives you a measure of power over him. He will not like that. He will be very likely to attempt to do unpleasant things to you.

Tell the truth if you are called on to testify, and let things sort themselves out.

BTW, you have to understand that anyone reading this question understands that you have no qualms at playing fast and loose with the truth, which puts everything you post into question. JMO.

Answer 4

You can be compelled to come to court and called as a witness, via the power of subpoena.
Creative answer: refuse to take the oath; G. Gordon Liddy did this once. Whatever you say is thus unreliable. You risk a contempt citation, however
And to Mr. Knowitall, accepting cash for testimony will leave YOU open to a felony.

Answer 5

Don't perjure yourself. I doubt that they will be interested in calling you for a civil trial if you are really not going to be a good witness. As far as the police go I would think that they are done with you. Car accidents do not generally warrant more than a cursory interview to try and gather information.

Answer 6

interesting. it's usually not a crime to get in an accident and usually the insurance settle the case let's assume the mean guy got injured and it goes to civil court. you can't refuse to testify in a civil trial. nor can you refuse interrogatories or a deposition both under oath under penalty of perjury...it is likely you will get caught in a lie thru three round of sworn testimony. you must use a time honored strategy....answer every question I DON'T RECALL

Answer 7

You can be subpoenaed to appear. If you are & fail to do so you can be arrested & brought into court.
If you lie in court you can be charged with criminal perjury, convicted and sentenced. Since you TOLD the police you intend to lie, it won't be that hard to convict you.

Answer 8

if they supeana you you do have to go to court however you can plead the 5th n;o comment however if you do talk in court you will have to answer there questions!