What does the prosecuter do if they are not able to locate a witness to issue a subpoena?

Question

Also,do they drop the charges if there are no witnessses?Do they still have trial on the set court date?

Answer 1

If the witness was so vital to the case that it cant possibly proceed with out him or her then yes they will likely drop the case. If not, the case will proceed as normal, there would only be a delay if the prosecutor could convince the court to delay because the prosecutor was reasonably certain he could find the witness if given a bit more time. But you better believe the defense attorney would fight this and it would be a rare situation for the judge to delay the trial indefinitely waiting for a witness. This is because you have a constitutional right to a speedy trial and some jurisdictions even have set time limits for a trial to take place or else the charges are dropped.

Answer 2

The law differs in each of the 50 states, so I can only answer in general.

Since there is a Constitutional presumption of innocence, unless there is evidence that the defendant committed the crime, the defendant cannot be held or tried if the only evidence is the word of a witness who cannot be found.

Of course, there are many cases where there are no eyewitnesses. The prosecution has to rely on physical evidence (clues), or even circumstantial evidence (the defendant was present when a crime was committed).

But, if the only thing connecting a person to a specific act or crime is the word of a witness who did not testify under oath before the grand jury or in a previous legal hearing, then those statements usually are hearsay, and cannot be admitted in court, because the defendant's attorney has the Consitutional right to confront and cross-examine any witnesses against his client.
Even then, the transcript of his prior testimony under oath cannot be admitted in evidence unless there is a showing of why the witness is unavailable to testify, and even then, it might not be allowed.

Each state has different rules regarding the setting of trial dates; if a witness has disappeared or cannot be found, the court can postpone the trial to give the prosecution or defense enough time to find a witness, or may order the case dismissed, depending on a whole variety of facts in specific cases.

Answer 3

Virtually all evidence must be presented through witnesses. Even documents must be authenticated by a witness who can testify about what the documents are. The prosecutor could ask for a continuance, and if not granted, would likely dismiss the charges if the absent witness were critical to prove an essential element of the prosecution's case.

Answer 4

Unless they have a way to provide the evidence that the witness would would have testified to, even without the witness present, they'd have to build their case around the other evidence. And if their case wasn't strong enough, they'd be better off to drop the charges at this time, and charge again when they can better prove their case.

Answer 5

It depends on what other evidence they have. If the witness was all they had to rely on, they may have to drop the charges. But if they have some physical evidence or a confession, or something else to use, they will proceed.