I've got to go to court as a witness. Need advice.
55 replies, posted
Simple stuff. Not like you are a possible suspect. Just talk loudly and sound confident and tell the truth.
Have a few stiff drinks beforehand
I have to go to court in about a year because i witnessed a girl getting pulled into a car; and phoned it into the police.
Get arrested for conspiracy (from asking an internet forum what to say).
Just kidding :v:
Just tell the truth, you have nothing to hide.
OH.
Don't miss an opportunity for the set up to this:[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hGvQtumNAY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hGvQtumNAY
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This just in: There is payment for expenses E.g fuel and food to get there.
[img]http://www.lisashea.com/hobbies/viggo/images/witness.jpg[/img]
Just be like Harrison Ford
Hey Lankist, are there alternatives to swearing on a bible? Someone like me wouldn't appreciate having to do that very much. Could I sign something saying I'll tell the truth under penalty of perjury instead?
Just in case I ever end up in court.
[QUOTE=Zeke129;19731229]Hey Lankist, are there alternatives to swearing on a bible? Someone like me wouldn't appreciate having to do that very much. Could I sign something saying I'll tell the truth under penalty of perjury instead?
Just in case I ever end up in court.[/QUOTE]
You can tell the judge that you're not a part of a religion and you'll take a secular oath.
Or in america, in some states a non-christian won't be allowed to testify, but I haven't heard any case of any judge actually obeying that one.
[QUOTE=Zeke129;19731229]Hey Lankist, are there alternatives to swearing on a bible? Someone like me wouldn't appreciate having to do that very much. Could I sign something saying I'll tell the truth under penalty of perjury instead?
Just in case I ever end up in court.[/QUOTE]
Swearing on the bible is optional
[QUOTE=KrAzY_nikomo;19731382]You can tell the judge that you're not a part of a religion and you'll take a secular oath.
Or in america, in some states a non-christian won't be allowed to testify, but I haven't heard any case of any judge actually obeying that one.[/QUOTE]
Thanks. I did some searching for a "Secular oath" and found that Canada has something called a solemn affirmation that you can do instead of an oath. You don't have to give a reason like you do in the states either.
How do you go about choosing it though? Do you tell your lawyer ahead of time, bring it up when they crack out the bible, or do they ask you?
[QUOTE=Zeke129;19731436]Thanks. I did some searching for a "Secular oath" and found that Canada has something called a solemn affirmation that you can do instead of an oath. You don't have to give a reason like you do in the states either.
How do you go about choosing it though? Do you tell your lawyer ahead of time, bring it up when they crack out the bible, or do they ask you?[/QUOTE]
The court gives you the option of swearing on the bible and a secular oath before giving testimony.
Setting off in a couple of minutes :ohdear:
What exactly happened if you don't mind me asking?
I'd laugh if there was a thread about someone being on the jury for this.
Having served on a jury I do have one thing to suggest:
The defense lawyer may try to rattle or discredit you. Don't break down, obviously, but also don't turtle up and claim to be more sure about things than you actually are. There's nothing more frustrating than witnesses with contradictory stories adamantly insisting they're accurate accounts.
Show up naked, they don't care how you dress.
[QUOTE=Cypher_09;19723972]I got a letter through the post today from the police asking if I could give some information about an event that I witnessed back in [B]2006[/B]. I phoned up the police (nervously as hell, I bet I sounded guilty myself). It wasn't anything special, it was just a fight a friend had with somebody. I was with him at the time. 4 years ago though...hard as hell to remember.
So anyway I rang up and told him all I knew, he thanked me a lot and said that it could help in the investigation and that if need be would I be willing to attend crown court and say this. I told him that I'd be really nervous, and I'm not a very good public speaker. He explained that I'm not the only one and that there's other witnesses too, even police officers.
I'll be missing college to attend. Has anybody else done this? What's involved in the process? [Hezzy?]
Really scared :ohdear:[/QUOTE]
They only want you to write a statement and on the back were you sign it it asks if you will attend court if it goes that far.
Refrain from bringing any firearms into the courtroom is my only advice. Also, Lankist is a lawyer.
[editline]01:15AM[/editline]
[QUOTE=TH89;19838950] [URL="http://youtube.com/watch?v=oYj7q_by_2E"][media]http://youtube.com/watch?v=oYj7q_by_2E[/media][/URL]
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[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQM6QtBu4DA[/media]
Just pretend it's a [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Wright:_Ace_Attorney]video game about lawyers.[/url]
Believe in Ashxu who believes in you. :kamina:
[QUOTE=actionhank;19725229]OH.
Don't miss an opportunity for the set up to this:[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hGvQtumNAY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hGvQtumNAY
[/URL][/QUOTE]
That's a horrible comparison, and even if the opportunity presented itself I would vehemently recommend you do not do that.
Witness is credit to government.
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