it, the police are saying she was sent a letter and must attend but we are going away tomorrow, must she attend by law she wont come away as she is afraid she will be arrested, she is a witness and didnt see very much anyway
2007-09-04 19:48:56 · 30 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
She darn well better attend.
2007-09-04 19:51:24 · answer #1 · answered by t jefferson 3 · 2⤊ 2⤋
US CITIZENS - THIS IS ON THE UK ANSWERS SITE SO YOUR ANSWERS, AS THEY FREQUENTLY ARE, ARE IRRELEVANT.
Assuming that you have never had the letter that the police say you were sent, the first thing to do is contact the police and explain that you are going away. Further, explain that you have never been asked to provide any dates to avoid for court appearances and that the problem, if there is one, lies with the case officer, who has not bothered to find out her availability. (If you DID get a letter and ignored it pretty much the same applies, but you have been a little negligent. That still does not put you in any sort of contempt.)
If she is an important witness, the CPS will take steps to have it adjourned. If not they will just not call her.
It is entirely up to the prosecution and the defence who they call as witnesses, not the court. Any suggestion that this is contempt is nonsense. To be in contempt of a court you need to disobey an order they have made - that does NOT include a phone call or a letter from the police.
2007-09-05 03:07:05 · answer #2 · answered by Essex Ron 5 · 4⤊ 0⤋
if a summons has been issued then she must attend. A summons will be served by the police and must be obeyed otherwise a custodial can follow. If no summons has been issued then the choise is hers. The consequences of failure to attend will depend on the comments she made in her statement to the police. You should inform the police and court by letter that you have a prearranged holiday and they will simply need to rearrange the hearing to a more convenient date. These things happen and Judges do understand. At the end of the day we are all human and holidays do get booked without advance warning. I am a criminal defence solicitor
2007-09-05 05:35:11 · answer #3 · answered by Cyrus M 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Did they leave a # or is there a # you can call and make sure this is the truth?
But if she was a witness to something and you know about whats going on then yes she must show up. If she does not she could get arrested.
2007-09-05 02:59:49 · answer #4 · answered by watdahellrudoin 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Phone the court and police station to confirm and then explain you situation, regarding holidays.
Not all court officials are stupid some are quite intelligent or just go away and let the missus face the music after the holiday who know (you might get another holiday)
2007-09-05 04:13:28 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If the court has told her to attend then she must attend other wise she will be arrested.
You can get any money back you may have paid towards ny trips as being in court is a good enough reason.
Good luck.
2007-09-05 03:24:42 · answer #6 · answered by laplandfan 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Why not telephone the court or the police to confirm she has to attend and the time? Better still ask to speak to liasion officer at the police station so she knows what to expect will happen when she has to attend court to put her mind at ease.
2007-09-05 03:10:22 · answer #7 · answered by philip o 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
If this is true she should have got an actual authorised letter from the police or magistrate not just a call to say she should attend
2007-09-05 02:54:30 · answer #8 · answered by Sarah 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Was she hand-delivered a "notice to appear" letter by a representative of the governing police department? If not, have a good time wherever you are off to. One is not required to appear simply by getting a letter in the mail or a phone call.
Sarah has it right. The rest of the answerers are going by their "gut" without having any working knowledge of the legal system.
2007-09-05 02:56:57 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
She had to have known that eventually she would be called to court, if she was a witness. Does not matter how much she saw or knows, they think she is a good witness. She needs to go, appear and let them know how much she does not know, they might let her leave. Otherwise, she can be arrested.
2007-09-05 02:55:55 · answer #10 · answered by lilly4 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
she needs to go to court, even if she did not see much she still is a witness and yes if she does not attend she can be arrested
2007-09-05 02:57:09 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋