Going to Court as a Witness... Any Advice?

[Junside]

I'm going to court for the very first time in my life as a witness. The subject between the parties is over a Protective Order violation. My friend is in jail and his ex applied for a protective order. My friend regularly called me from jail and he did ask if he could talk to her. She did talk to him on my phone and she wanted to get around the protective order, so I wrote a letter in her place towards him. And since I am to appear in court, this counted as violation of her protective order. I'll be witness in defense of my friend and I think he'll get out with my help. He's not a bad person.

Now, in all honesty I'm nervous. My plan is to tell the truth but I'm not sure if I can also get in trouble for all this. I'm very stressed out with my tight schedule and lack of court experience. My plan is to just simply tell the truth while leading myself away from trouble, but will admit to anything I have done seriously wrong.

Does anyone have any advice he or she can provide me, from personal experience or other? I always like going into things with a plan and readily prepared, but I cannot do much. Thanks in advance.

[Noodleleg]

Just say the truth... Contempt of court and perjury is a pain in the *** lol...

[Livemau]

be honest dont get into trouble for your friend or else you will both get put into jail or get fined even though u were covering his rear
this isnt PL and you dont have to protect him from the rushers
good luck to you your friend and all

[StompArtist]

I'm going to court for the very first time in my life as a witness. The subject between the parties is over a Protective Order violation. My friend is in jail and his ex applied for a protective order. My friend regularly called me from jail and he did ask if he could talk to her. She did talk to him on my phone and she wanted to get around the protective order, so I wrote a letter in her place towards him. And since I am to appear in court, this counted as violation of her protective order. I'll be witness in defense of my friend and I think he'll get out with my help. He's not a bad person.

Now, in all honesty I'm nervous. My plan is to tell the truth but I'm not sure if I can also get in trouble for all this. I'm very stressed out with my tight schedule and lack of court experience. My plan is to just simply tell the truth while leading myself away from trouble, but will admit to anything I have done seriously wrong.

Does anyone have any advice he or she can provide me, from personal experience or other? I always like going into things with a plan and readily prepared, but I cannot do much. Thanks in advance.

Call the Judge "Your highness" or "Your majesty".

[CrimsonTider]

Two things:

1. As others said, tell the truth.
2. Don't say "huh" or "yeah". Know your mannerisms and all will be fine.

I deal with high-risk youth at our school and I can tell you that as long as you follow those two things, you will have nothing to worry about. Remember, they only want the story, not you (unless you lie or show your butt.) Good luck!

[Zaonabiuibil]

Two things:

1. As others said, tell the truth.
2. Don't say "huh" or "yeah". Know your mannerisms and all will be fine.

I deal with high-risk youth at our school and I can tell you that as long as you follow those two things, you will have nothing to worry about. Remember, they only want the story, not you (unless you lie or show your butt.) Good luck!

Pff... No wonder I always got into trouble! ;)

[Livemau]

Pff... No wonder I always got into trouble! ;)

what ru doing flashing ur bum
flashmybum is a pl players is that ur alt zao

[vampinoy]

This is based on personal experience.

I'm not familiar with the background of your case but let me give an overview of mine. Been in trading business for almost a decade now, through the years I've had several litigation. Good thing I'm fortunate enough to know good lawyers to defend me. That being said, most of my experience as a witness focuses on civil law, specifically, contracts. In a nutshell, these lawsuits forces someone to honor agreements or settle disputes. So I testify on my first hand knowledge either to defend myself with my first hand knowledge, or prosecute with the same.


My notes:

You'll be called to the stand...asked to swear under oath:

1. There's a direct examination by your lawyer. Direct examination basically are questions by your lawyer that will get information out from you so you can tell your story to the court. It's like trying to tell a story through your lawyer's questioning. DO NOT narrate, otherwise, you can expect objections from the prosecution lawyer. Granted objections are not good, because it will make your lawyer look bad and unprepared, sometimes, the decision will boil down to who is more prepared, so avoid instigating unnecessary objections by narrating beyond the questions. Just answer your lawyer's questions, nothing more, nothing less, don't expound. Lawyers think differently, sometimes we think something is relevant, for them it's not, so if they did not ask it, it means your lawyer doesn't think it's relevant to your case, trust your lawyer. Your lawyer is there to grab your hand and guide you from start to finish. The goal is to tell the story with least amount of words, your lawyer's questions will serve as your guide on what and what not to say, every word counts in a trial, remember that. One wrong word can mean your entire credibility (even if you're telling the truth).

2. After the direct is done, a cross examination will be conducted by the prosecuting lawyer (the enemy lawyer as I like to put it LOL). Cross Examinations will test your credibility as a witness and he will try to find holes in your story, you need to be very careful with your words at this point, you can take your time answering the questions or even ask permission from the judge if you can console your lawyer if you're unsure of your answer. The prosecution's questions will be limited to the scope of your direct examination, so if a question was not covered during your direct examination, your defense lawyer will object to it and most likely be sustained. This is why you should avoid narrating, more words, more loopholes, don't give the prosecution chance to attack you. Cross Examination is also the part when the prosecuting lawyer will use your words against you, including your narrations (If you made this mistake). If you narrate, your lawyer may not be prepared to object to the questions of the prosecution, and you might be led to incriminate yourself. Lawyers are very very smart and quick witted, just when you thought your story is picture perfect, they turn it against you in a split second and your entire credibility is destroyed. By the time the trial comes, the enemy lawyer will know so much about you more than your friends, parents, etc. If you watched Sherlock Holmes, something like that. The enemy lawyer will be expecting you to make mistakes during direct examination (one is unguided narration beyond the questions), once you do, he will have prepared questions already. So don't give the enemy lawyer the chance, just follow your own lawyer during the direct examination and you'll avoid the worst possible scenario. Sorry if I keep repeating my words, I'm doing it on purpose, so I get my points across :P

3. After cross examination, your defense lawyer will have the option to either re-direct examine you or discharge you from the witness stand. Redirect Examination is done if your defense lawyer feels that during the cross examination you were weakened by the prosecution, your lawyer will try to re-establish your strengths by asking you questions again that will get you to respond to the cross examination properly. It's like direct examination (lets you tell your story) > cross examination (enemy debunks your story) > redirect (lets you rebut/explain/answer the debunks of your enemy). After this, It's usually done (never went further than this).


* You should meet with your lawyer and discuss your gameplan. In a trial, you cannot prepare alone, you need to be in sync with your lawyer. His questions, your answers. What you can say, what you cannot say. Those things. My personal experience, by the time I walk to the witness stand during trials, I already know everything my lawyer will ask me, and every answer I'll make. Like a movie script. This "script" removes all my nervousness. I find that putting everything into writing solves the nervous problem, so put into writing everything you and your lawyer discusses and review it from time to time. Before I enter the witness stand, I also have an idea what cross examination questions will be made by the prosecuting lawyer, because my lawyer thinks like the prosecution lawyer too, so your lawyer will tell you what he'll ask if he's the prosecution. There were times when me and my lawyer pretended that we're in the actual trial, and my lawyer was bombarding me with questions just to test me. So, preparation is key. Don't be nervous. When you do become nervous and confused, you can ask permission from the judge if you can console with your lawyer (although some lawyers object to this based on my experience). Body Language also plays a role, just relax, try to be aware of your body language, avoid unnecessary movements. Good luck!!!

PS: Yes, of course, tell the truth, but do it systematically. Truth can be altered. Too much truth can work against you, just focus on the truth that can help you and are approved by your defense lawyer. Cooperate with your lawyer, follow everything he says, when I say everything, I mean flawless. So...good luck, I hope you win your case for your friend.

PSS: These are my notes, I'm not guaranteeing that it will turn out that way, just sharing my own experience hoping it will give you an idea.

[Livemau]

well if u get called to jury duty be the guy that always brings up the death penalty for ex
people are getting a divorce trying to figure out who gets the car
recommend for the wife to be put o death for questioning the mans decision ;)
im jk tell them the man needs to be killed cuz women r always right