Help!

I am shortly facing court as a witness for the prosecution. The defendant is apparently going to be representing himself and so will be asking the cross-examination questions.

The offences are harassment and threats to kill.

Has anyone got any tips to help me? All help is much appreciated.

Only answer the questions asked - do not volunteer information. Try to confine yourself to 'yes/no' replies. Don't be rushed, think about your answer before you give it.
Stay calm if an attempt is made to provoke you, don't get into arguing with the cross examiner, try to forget he/she is the defendant and keep it neutral. Most important (sorry for the caps it's not shouting but emphasis) DON'T VOLUNTEER INFORMATION THAT WASN'T ASKED FOR.

totallystressed wrote:
Help!

I am shortly facing court as a witness for the prosecution. The
defendant is apparently going to be representing himself and so will
be asking the cross-examination questions.

The offences are harassment and threats to kill.

Has anyone got any tips to help me? All help is much appreciated.

Stay calm at all times, factual, truthful and unemotional. The judge will
look after you, and will refuse to allow intimidation or irrelevant
questions. Don't get annoyed at anything. If the defendant gets annoyed,
he will be harming his own case, so don't worry about it.

On Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:28:51 +0100, totallystressed
wrote:

I am shortly facing court as a witness for the prosecution. The
defendant is apparently going to be representing himself and so will be
asking the cross-examination questions.

The offences are harassment and threats to kill.

Has anyone got any tips to help me? All help is much appreciated.

In addition to the advice already given, a good technique is to turn
to the judge and answer questions towards him as if he'd asked them.
This is an accepted practice and tends to disconcert an unrepresented
defendent if there's no eye contact while you're giving your answers.

And, whatever the defendent says, stay calm, cool and collected.
Don't rise to provocation.

Mike.

"totallystressed" wrote in
message ...

Help!

I am shortly facing court as a witness for the prosecution. The
defendant is apparently going to be representing himself and so will be
asking the cross-examination questions.

The offences are harassment and threats to kill.

Has anyone got any tips to help me? All help is much appreciated.



The judge will tend to be soft on improper questioning.

Take your own lawyer.



--
totallystressed

You should be assisted by Witness Support at the court. They will brief you on procedure
(but not the case) and answer any questions. The judge will, especially in this type of
case, have a duty to ensure that cross examination is fair and courteous. It's a stressful
situation, but the courts have put a lot of thought into looking after witnesses in recent
years.

Hi,

Thanks for your advice. I have seen this happen in a recent criminal drama. I did wonder though that it might seem as if I am being awkward and purposefully trying to hamper the proceedings.

Is keeping my answers confined to yes/no an accepted practice in court? Does it annoy the judge?

I look forward to your reply.

Thanks

Mike wrote:
On Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:28:51 +0100, totallystressed
wrote:

I am shortly facing court as a witness for the prosecution. The
defendant is apparently going to be representing himself and so will
be asking the cross-examination questions.

The offences are harassment and threats to kill.

Has anyone got any tips to help me? All help is much appreciated.

In addition to the advice already given, a good technique is to turn
to the judge and answer questions towards him as if he'd asked them.
This is an accepted practice and tends to disconcert an unrepresented
defendent if there's no eye contact while you're giving your answers.

Best advice so far. Listen to the question impassively, with a minimum of
eye contact with the defendant. Then turn towards the Judge and deliver
your reply in that direction.

If you're feeling stressed or upset, say so and ask for a break. The Judge
will step in if you're being bullied.

totallystressed wrote:
Help!

I am shortly facing court as a witness for the prosecution. The
defendant is apparently going to be representing himself and so will be
asking the cross-examination questions.

The offences are harassment and threats to kill.

Has anyone got any tips to help me? All help is much appreciated.

Obvious answer is to simply tell the truth....but that might not be wise :-)

On Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:37:28 +0100, Hopeless wrote:

totallystressed wrote:
Help!

I am shortly facing court as a witness for the prosecution. The
defendant is apparently going to be representing himself and so will be
asking the cross-examination questions.

The offences are harassment and threats to kill.

Has anyone got any tips to help me? All help is much appreciated.

Obvious answer is to simply tell the truth....but that might not be wise :-)

In my experience (from public galleries) is that courts are frequently
a Theatre of Lies. The defendant lies, the police (frequently) lie.
The procecution lawyers lie. All in the hope of confusing/bamboozling
the jury or the magistate.

Seldom does anyone get charged with perjury after these antics. Why?