A witness is a person who has witnessed a crime or been the victim of a crime. A witness may be summoned to appear (ordered to participate in court) under the Canadian Criminal Code or in criminal proceedings in the NWT. Witnesses are called to court to answer questions about a case. The information that a witness gives to the court is called testimony and is used as evidence to present the facts of the alleged crime. If you receive a subpoena, you should provide a leave of absence from work and someone to care for your children while you are in court. Your employer must give you time off to go to court and can`t fire or punish you for your free time, but is not obligated to pay you. It`s hard to say how long you`ll be in court. A court case can take hours or days; And you might be asked to go to court more than once. You must be available to the court until the judge lets you go.
If you do not show up for court if you should, the judge can charge you with contempt of court and issue an arrest warrant against you. This is a typical event in many depots. While the dismissing lawyer asks questions relevant to the case, they may also repeat questions to make sure your answers are consistent, or ask questions that are meant to embarrass or exasperate you. Often, these questions will hurt your case if you answer them honestly – and, of course, you`ve vowed to do so. So, what options do you have? If you`re not sure what a question is for, stop and ask yourself if the answer could impact how a judge would decide your case. For example, you may not want to answer questions about your living situation, but a judge may need the information to decide which home is best for child care. Just because the answer might be troubling or used against you doesn`t mean it`s irrelevant to the case. Yes, there are two limited exceptions.
First, in some states, you must provide your name to law enforcement if you are arrested and asked to identify yourself. But even if you give your name, you don`t have to answer any other questions. Second, if you`re driving and you`re stopped for a traffic violation, the officer may ask you to provide your driver`s license, vehicle registration, and proof of insurance (but you don`t have to answer your questions). (Non-citizens should read Section IV for more information on this topic.) This is a bigger problem. If it`s just a question, the defense lawyer will likely mark «the question and your refusal to answer» for a verdict. If you refuse to answer multiple questions, you can expect the defense attorney to repeatedly say, «Mark this for a decision.» Depending on the importance of the issue, the defence lawyer may make a formal request to the judge to intervene. In most cases, the answer is no. If testimony is ordered by a court and the expert is called for the deposition phase, that expert is compelled to appear, take an oath and participate to the fullest extent of his or her abilities.
Coming to testify, taking the oath and then simply refusing to answer questions is unacceptable, and it is considered contempt of court; or refusal to participate in the legal proceedings if you are asked to do so. «SAY WHAT??» «Yes, you heard me right. How often do you beat your husband? » asks the lawyer seriously. You turn to your lawyer and ask, «Do I have to answer this ridiculous question?» When you are asked to testify, head to the courtroom near the judge and the clerk will make you swear to tell the truth. You must tell the truth by bearing testimony. Lying in court is a crime called perjury, and you can be sentenced to up to 14 years in prison. If you make a mistake, let the lawyer who subpoenaed you and make sure your mistake is corrected in court. In such a situation, it is perfectly acceptable for the expert to refuse to answer a question, even if he is under oath to participate honestly and completely. In practice, this is most often a case in which the person refuses to answer, is told that he or she is being held in contempt, and then participates immediately to prevent him or her from crossing the boundaries of the court and risking prison sentences. In some cases, you may simply be removed from the trial version.
The expert will come to court after the trial and will be asked a number of questions. Your answers will be recorded and most likely applied during the process itself. At this point, the expert could be asked to take a position and explain his arguments directly to the court in a more formal sense. For example, an expert witness could be called to court to provide an overview of the standard of care for psychiatric patients.
