when someone gets themselves arrested and they are charged with an offence. there is witness statment from the victim that has been taken by police . When does the offender see the statement is it at the police station when they are being interviewed or is it when they get to court. thanks!
2007-12-15 19:53:19 · 15 answers · asked by glamour 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
They don't have to be disclosed to a solicitor or the defendant until the file of evidence is put forwards to the Courts.
Disclosure rules do however state that the defendant is entitled to a copy of the statements before the Court hearing.
It is however sometimes beneficial to disclose the existence of statements whilst in the interview phase of an investigation and this is something that I personally usually do.
2007-12-16 11:13:29 · answer #1 · answered by Ian UK 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your solicitor will get a copy of it before the Court hearing as he will need to cross examine the witness. The witness will not have the statement in the Court so often will say something different to what is in the statement. It is very important to get a good solicitor - few and far between.
2007-12-16 05:29:11 · answer #2 · answered by hillary 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The offender will be aware you have a statement when they are being interviewed, however you will not allow them to read it. Extracts from the statement may be read.
If the offender is charged a file is them submitted. Part of the process is that disclosure is made to the defence. At this point the defence will physically recieve a copy of the statement.
2007-12-15 21:23:42 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Once a person is charged, the CPS have a duty to disclose all material to the defence. However, I have often been shown the statement of the victime during the police station stage, which is pre-charge. It depends
2007-12-15 21:27:02 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
you see the statements before you go to court it is designed so you and your solicitor can go through to see if it is correct or worded by the police to incriminate you more and make it look worse than it really is you have a right to refuse to be dealt with if you have not seen the evidence against you but your solicitor will guide you on this good luck Dave
2007-12-15 20:08:19 · answer #5 · answered by Psycho Dave 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The police can show it to you at the station, but do not need to. If the statement is never used against you, in court, it never has to be shown to you. If the statement is used against you, in court, it has to be shown to you in the discovery phase of the trial.
2007-12-15 20:08:33 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The solicitor of the accused will receive a copy of their statement and he should pass it on to his client.
This is done long before the court appearance.
2007-12-16 01:45:26 · answer #7 · answered by st.abbs 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your solicitor will receive a copy prior to any Court proceedings
2007-12-16 08:55:14 · answer #8 · answered by flint 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They will usually tell you what the witness said when the cops interview you. But the first time you must see it is at discovery.
2007-12-15 20:06:38 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it is called disclosure or discovery whereby the lawyer(s) acting for the accused have access to depositions made by witnesses etc prior to the actual trial.
2007-12-15 20:08:22 · answer #10 · answered by alienfiend1 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋