Can i get out of being a witness in a trial?

Question

I have been notified i am a witness in a trial, i cant do it firstly because i go to University with the mother of the girl being prosecuted. Secondly i am have had 3 panic attacks just thinking about it. There were many witnesses, i have spoken to the CPS and they asked if i could not attend, prosecution said ok she doesnt need to attend but defense insisting i attend, thing is i am a witness for the prosecution so scared even more now. Why would the defence want me there????
I cant do it, im on the verge of just running away i cant cope with this at all!!!!! Does anyone know if there is a way to get out of this???

I did not lie at all, we were told by the police it was very unlikely to go to court which is why i agreed to give a statement. There is another 8 witnesses who saw the same as me and also gave statements.
That last message was really uncalled for. I do have panic attacks and have for many years.
I am scared not because i lied but because i have to go to University with the mother of the girl being prosecuted and there not a nice family to get on the wrong side of at all.
I am more scared that it is the defence that want me there not the prosecution, im really worried there going to be really hard on me.
All in all im just scared!!!

Answer 1

Right Dutchess lets get you out of this I'll try my best. (Panic attacks are horrible my ex used to have them & unless u see them u cannot comment so f...k 'em.) This is the attitude you want F..k 'em all!! Right it is a 3 country u don't have to be a witness, stand up 4 yourself!! They are playing mind games, the police want a nick. They don't care about you and the defense know your weak so that is why they want you there. They know they have a chance to break u, u r an easy target. The simple fact is you don't have to be a witness, make 1 statement & say 'I don't want to be a witness!' Say it once then don't answer the phone you made your statement that is it that is all they r getting. Their soon get the message to f..k off!! Your be fine, stand tall f..k 'em it is a 3 country!!

Answer 2

Speak to the witness care officer for your case. there are measures that can be applied for. I work in the legal system and am a professional witness I have been called to a large number of trials in the past 7 years and have given evidence about 7 times.
They may go guilty on the day, when they see you have done the right thing. It is not like the TV you will be OK. There is no justice without the witness.
Some will say there is no justice, but there is no hope for any of us if you don't do the right thing.
oh and if you are called and fail to attend you may have a warrant issued for you and get arrested or the guilty go free because of you. Don't run, it is not as scare as you think.
Go and watch a trial, they are public you can do this. Ask for a court visit, it will help.
Be brave.

Answer 3

If you are suffering Panic attacks to te point tat you cannot give evidence or stand up to cross examination, you must get a note from your Doctor.

They may adjourn the case. But if you doctor insists that giving evidence can be detrimental to your health the courts will not go against that.

I was a lead witness in a case and had a breakdown at the thought of going to trial. I was excused - though I had been admitted to hospital etc and there was plenty of documented evidence that I was too ill to take the stand.

Answer 4

I'm sorry but I don't think that you can get out of being a witness at the trial, you could go to your doctor, telling him about the panic attacks and he may give you a note to take to them, they may let you be a witness from another room with TV.

Answer 5

Firstly, stop the panic!

Lets start at the beginning...you gave a witness statement to an offence you witnessed. This statement is for the Prosecution, and the police officer who took it should not have told you that you wouldn't be called as he/she does not decide who is called. The Prosecution counsel will have decided which witnesses they want to call and all unused witness statements are tendered to the defence.
The defence counsel then make a decision of whom they want to call, and look for weaknesses in the statements that could go in the favour of their client (the defendant).- thats how you may have got called by the defence, but you are still a prosecution witness.
If you continue down the line of not wanting to attend (and to be honest any witness care officer worth their salt will have sussed this as the case), you should have been informed that you are liable to be summonsed, and arrested for contempt of court if after summons you fail to attend the trial.
If you are suffering any form of intimidation, you should contact the police, including if the mother of the defendant is saying things about the trial and it is unsettling you, as witness intimidation is a serious offence.
If you are, as you say suffering severe panic attacks, go and see your GP. He/she will need to state how long you have been ill, what medication etc you are prescribed, and must put in any letter that you are not fit now and never will be fit to give evidence for the foreseeable future.
To be honest with you, panic attacks don't generally wash with court....you may wish to speak with CPS witness care officer about special measures, this will depend on the type of offence and where you fit in as a witness, you may be able to get screens! It would be doubtful you would get a TV link.

My best advice is to bite down hard and ask for the witness service (based in the courts) to support you on the trial date, go in and give your evidence.

Answer 6

Presumably the defence have asked for you because they think that there's a chance that your evidence won't stand up in court and they want to be able to cross-examine you. That alone isn't very reassuring. If you fail to attend, then one of two things could happen. The CPS might decide that the case can proceed without your evidence and simply not offer it to the court. Alternatively, they might decide to issue a witness summons to you to attend court and it will be served on you with conduct money (to cover fares, so that you can't say that you are prevented from coming by financial factors), in which case you have to turn up or risk being arrested and dealt with for contempt of court. I don't know whether this link will be of any help to you. http://www.thesite.org/homelawandmoney/law/victims/witnesssupport

Answer 7

you should have thought about the consequences when you first made a statement are you afraid that the statement you made was not exactly the truth and you may have caused unknown trouble for someone. it seems extremely obvious to me that the prosecution are not bothered for you to attend but the defence insists. have you told a lie that the defence will pounce on and make the trial a non event.
you are worried not because you have to go to court it is the fact that you orginal lie will be found out and you dont want the hassle etc. if you have nothing to fear you must attend and the rubbish about panic attacks for me IMO are just another lie

Answer 8

You didn't say whether you were "subpoened", which means that you received or were given an official letter indicating that you must appear ("notified" could mean anything, official or not!). I'm pretty sure that it's the same in the UK as it is in the US (for the uninitiated, "CPS" refers to the "Crown Prosecution Service" in the UK, per the link, below).

Many lawyers - - both prosecution and defense - - use subpoenas not only to get someone to testify to their client's or "the people's" benefit, but also as a "scare" tactic to show the opposing attorney that they mean business (i.e., "look at how many people I'm going to call against your client"). In many instances, the case is dropped before it goes to court, especially in civil cases, simply because the other side "blinked", so to speak (i.e., it isn't worth their time and effort, so they drop the case or decide to plea bargain instead of going to trial against such weighty evidence or testimony).

If there really are "many witnesses", then you are just one of many, and the family probably wouldn't care. On the other hand, I understand your misapprehension and angst about it. You should read the subpoena, and contact the lawyer or clerk that sent it to you, either by phone or in person. You may tell them that you are afraid, which may get you out of it, but, you must understand that a lot of people will do anything to get out of jury duty or testimonials; in other words, they've heard every excuse! However, lawyers have an obligation to protect witnesses, and, as such, they might arrange for you to come into their office, and write or video your testimony, thus sparing you from having to testify in front of everyone (again, if you're truly one of many witnesses, then nobody's going to do anything to you; it's not worth their time or effort).

As an example, I was a witness (and almost victim!) to a drunk-driving accident. I was later subpoened by mail, and contacted the lawyer whose contact information appeared at the bottom of the subpoena. I immediately called him, and calmly answered his questions. He thanked me, and said that it wouldn't be necessary for me to appear. I guess I was "lucky", but, to be honest, I find the criminal justice system to be fascinating, and would have liked to attend! I found out from a relative who's an attorney that I could have attended, as long as it wasn't a "closed" session, which, given the circumstances, probably wasn't the case. So, running away won't solve anything, and will definitely make things much worse for you.

Contact a solicitor (that's "attorney" for us "Yanks"!) for guidance; I'm assuming you're a college student, so you should contact your parents, first, if you haven't done so, already!

BTW, it's a good thing that you didn't give details about the case, because that could be considered "contempt" by the judge for discussing it after being subpoened!

Answer 9

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Answer 10

Consult legal counsel, or just call the clerk's office. Make sure you don't have to show up before you just avoid going. To not show up would be a contempt of court especially if you are summoned.