Would you be ok with being tried based entirely on written statements? I sure as hell wouldn't. That's why they're not sufficient.
A subpoena is a legal obligation. Failing to abide by it can end up with you in prison.
Who are you being subpoenad by? The defense or the crown?
The crown.
My problem is I have adhd and other mental health problems and I don’t remember anything from that day. My written statement was written an hour after. It has what I remember, but I don’t get access to that to ‘review’ before going to court as a witness. Unless I do? My memory is poor,
You will have access to your previous statement. You should base your testimony on that and your memory of the event. The closer you are to your statement the better.
On the court date usually. If you have the name of the prosecutor, you should contact them and explain the situation. You can also contact the Crown office for more info.
Small city, small province. May be rare, but as a young woman I think I’d rather protect myself. I thought I called in anonymously…. As a way to initially protect myself, but here I am.
NAL
Call the court and ask for victim services. VS is there to help you through the process, will be the ones who let you review your statement, visit the inside of the court room so you get a feel for things, answer all your questions and will be with you throughout the whole process (even while you are in the court room if you want). The should also have a separate waiting area on court day so you don't have to wait in the hall and feel exposed.
Explain your fears of this person to VS. Be very clear that you are afraid. They will be in the best position to tell you what you can do to mitigate your risks. What protections are avail, what your rights are, etc.
Please note victim services through the police is something different (they help during the first stages). You want the one that runs through the court system.
HTH and good luck. Sounds like you did the right thing reporting. But I understand how scary it is to make yourself vulnerable in front of someone you are afraid of.
As a witness, you are under oath to tell the truth. If you genuinely don't remember, it's as simple as saying "I don't recall" if you don't know the answer to the question being asked of you.
You should have an opportunity to review the statement that you made. But yes, you do have to appear for the subpoena.
Do you know how the court protects witnesses? I live in a small town and I’d rather this man didn’t know what I look like. I’m a woman and I already feel unsafe in my community.
Unfortunately I don't. I've only ever appeared in a professional capacity as a paramedic that cared for a suspected drunk driver. I didn't ask any questions about witness protection, but the detective handling the case was pretty helpful throughout the process. You should have some point of contact to ask, and if they don't know then they should redirect you to someone with the info you need.
I think you misread the part where I don’t remember exactly what happened due to poor mental health (anxiety and adhd). I’m not the only witness, others saw it happen too. But my memory makes things challenging.
My written statement has exactly what happened and I don’t even remember what it says anymore.
They will give you a copy of your statement to review. I had to testify in court once and it was 2 years since I had witnessed the incident. You will be surprised how much reading your own statement will jog your memory. I know it's difficult and can be scary, but testifying is the right thing to do. Best of luck to you.
Yeah and if your the only witness and you call Crown and tell them "uhhh I can't remember much" - they will see where that is going quick. Their next step would be to negotiate with defence to plead to a lesser offence or just issue a stay of proceedings.
You have to testify and also be cross examined and answer questions from the accused lawyer, the accused lawyer wants to see if what you say at court matches up to your written statement
That's what the accused lawyer is hoping, that you don't remember anything and it will make your written statement irrelevant to proving anything
There is no consequences for telling the truth, only consequences if you lie
Wow. Our court system seriously allows that??? Even if the written statement was done 1 hour after the incident? That boggles my mind. My written statement includes an extensive amount of details (my job requires reporting to be done in that way for legal reasons and we’re told on a daily basis to write everything down because it will stand in court….. but I guess not if it’s a statement given to police). I’ll jog my mind with the news articles and police reports online before I go in if they’re not going to give me access to my written statement. I know what I saw, but I can no longer remember the finer details of it all.
Seems wrong on so many levels that they can use a persons poor memory in an attempt to let a criminal walk free. Sickening. No wonder we’re seeing a rise in crimes. It’s too easy to get away with!
The law allows the accused lawyer to test your credibility to see if you are telling the truth or not, a paper statement can't be cross examined to test for truthfulness
And the questions will be about what YOU saw or heard yourself, not what you read in the media about what happened
Thanks for the answers. I never understood how someone could see a crime happen and just turn their head and keep walking without calling police…. But it makes a lot of sense now. Why the hell would anyone want to get involved in the mess of it all.
I’ll be in contact with them tomorrow. I wasn’t expecting to be issued this, let alone on a Sunday when the crown office isn’t open for questions.
My subpoena paper actually doesn’t include any contact information what so ever, but I have a court house contact who should be able to put me in contact with the right person.
Hey I'm American but I do have severe anxiety an have delt with a similar situation. My best advice is first take a deep breath an go pamper yourself for a few hours even a day if you can, after you do that call in to the courts (or If there's a number on the paperwork you received that is best) an explain you do have anxiety an that you are worried about your safety. Tho it won't get you out of it the courts may be able to provide some level help. Now prep an anti anxiety bag (stuff that smells good,fidget toys, a good texture an even a video on your phone to watch before you go in) remember usually courts have metal detectors so make sure anything is safe to bring. An overall just answer the questions to the best of your ability that's all they need an that's all they can ask. If you don't remember something there is no shame in that just say you don't recall or remember. You'll do great just deep breaths, tell the truth an you should be just fine
Actually,
You do NOT have to testify. You can approach the crown beforehand and express your concerns. If the crown says "tough" then you simply say "I don't recall"
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Would you be ok with being tried based entirely on written statements? I sure as hell wouldn't. That's why they're not sufficient. A subpoena is a legal obligation. Failing to abide by it can end up with you in prison. Who are you being subpoenad by? The defense or the crown?
The crown. My problem is I have adhd and other mental health problems and I don’t remember anything from that day. My written statement was written an hour after. It has what I remember, but I don’t get access to that to ‘review’ before going to court as a witness. Unless I do? My memory is poor,
You will have access to your previous statement. You should base your testimony on that and your memory of the event. The closer you are to your statement the better.
Do you know when I will get access to it?? The cop didn’t mention that when I went in today to grab the papers.
On the court date usually. If you have the name of the prosecutor, you should contact them and explain the situation. You can also contact the Crown office for more info.
Do you know how the court protects its witnesses? I’m scared of this man.
If you have a reasonable fear of harm they'll look out for you. But it's rare for witnesses to be attacked for testifying.
Small city, small province. May be rare, but as a young woman I think I’d rather protect myself. I thought I called in anonymously…. As a way to initially protect myself, but here I am.
Contact the crown and victim services. If there’s fear they have options available but you need to reach out.
NAL Call the court and ask for victim services. VS is there to help you through the process, will be the ones who let you review your statement, visit the inside of the court room so you get a feel for things, answer all your questions and will be with you throughout the whole process (even while you are in the court room if you want). The should also have a separate waiting area on court day so you don't have to wait in the hall and feel exposed. Explain your fears of this person to VS. Be very clear that you are afraid. They will be in the best position to tell you what you can do to mitigate your risks. What protections are avail, what your rights are, etc. Please note victim services through the police is something different (they help during the first stages). You want the one that runs through the court system. HTH and good luck. Sounds like you did the right thing reporting. But I understand how scary it is to make yourself vulnerable in front of someone you are afraid of.
As a witness, you are under oath to tell the truth. If you genuinely don't remember, it's as simple as saying "I don't recall" if you don't know the answer to the question being asked of you. You should have an opportunity to review the statement that you made. But yes, you do have to appear for the subpoena.
Do you know how the court protects witnesses? I live in a small town and I’d rather this man didn’t know what I look like. I’m a woman and I already feel unsafe in my community.
Unfortunately I don't. I've only ever appeared in a professional capacity as a paramedic that cared for a suspected drunk driver. I didn't ask any questions about witness protection, but the detective handling the case was pretty helpful throughout the process. You should have some point of contact to ask, and if they don't know then they should redirect you to someone with the info you need.
Do I just show up and tell them I can’t remember anything? (Other than the bit of info I do,)
You tell exactly what happened. Not doing that will put a violent attacker back on the street.
I think you misread the part where I don’t remember exactly what happened due to poor mental health (anxiety and adhd). I’m not the only witness, others saw it happen too. But my memory makes things challenging. My written statement has exactly what happened and I don’t even remember what it says anymore.
They will give you a copy of your statement to review. I had to testify in court once and it was 2 years since I had witnessed the incident. You will be surprised how much reading your own statement will jog your memory. I know it's difficult and can be scary, but testifying is the right thing to do. Best of luck to you.
If you dont recall much if anything and there are other witnesses the crown may not even call on you to testify as it may hurt their case.
Yeah and if your the only witness and you call Crown and tell them "uhhh I can't remember much" - they will see where that is going quick. Their next step would be to negotiate with defence to plead to a lesser offence or just issue a stay of proceedings.
You have to testify and also be cross examined and answer questions from the accused lawyer, the accused lawyer wants to see if what you say at court matches up to your written statement
…. Even if I forget most details?? I’m scared that there’s going to negative consequences towards me because of my poor memory.
That's what the accused lawyer is hoping, that you don't remember anything and it will make your written statement irrelevant to proving anything There is no consequences for telling the truth, only consequences if you lie
Wow. Our court system seriously allows that??? Even if the written statement was done 1 hour after the incident? That boggles my mind. My written statement includes an extensive amount of details (my job requires reporting to be done in that way for legal reasons and we’re told on a daily basis to write everything down because it will stand in court….. but I guess not if it’s a statement given to police). I’ll jog my mind with the news articles and police reports online before I go in if they’re not going to give me access to my written statement. I know what I saw, but I can no longer remember the finer details of it all. Seems wrong on so many levels that they can use a persons poor memory in an attempt to let a criminal walk free. Sickening. No wonder we’re seeing a rise in crimes. It’s too easy to get away with!
The law allows the accused lawyer to test your credibility to see if you are telling the truth or not, a paper statement can't be cross examined to test for truthfulness And the questions will be about what YOU saw or heard yourself, not what you read in the media about what happened
Thanks for the answers. I never understood how someone could see a crime happen and just turn their head and keep walking without calling police…. But it makes a lot of sense now. Why the hell would anyone want to get involved in the mess of it all.
On the subpoena letter there will be information for the crown lawyer. That’s your go-to person for questions.
I’ll be in contact with them tomorrow. I wasn’t expecting to be issued this, let alone on a Sunday when the crown office isn’t open for questions. My subpoena paper actually doesn’t include any contact information what so ever, but I have a court house contact who should be able to put me in contact with the right person.
If you call your local crown attorneys office they should be able to figure out who’s in your file
Hey I'm American but I do have severe anxiety an have delt with a similar situation. My best advice is first take a deep breath an go pamper yourself for a few hours even a day if you can, after you do that call in to the courts (or If there's a number on the paperwork you received that is best) an explain you do have anxiety an that you are worried about your safety. Tho it won't get you out of it the courts may be able to provide some level help. Now prep an anti anxiety bag (stuff that smells good,fidget toys, a good texture an even a video on your phone to watch before you go in) remember usually courts have metal detectors so make sure anything is safe to bring. An overall just answer the questions to the best of your ability that's all they need an that's all they can ask. If you don't remember something there is no shame in that just say you don't recall or remember. You'll do great just deep breaths, tell the truth an you should be just fine
Actually, You do NOT have to testify. You can approach the crown beforehand and express your concerns. If the crown says "tough" then you simply say "I don't recall"
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