An addition for having that guy arrested...

[RdEoSg]

Since the old thread was locked I will make this brief for those that are interested.

My boss and I just got subpoenaed to appear in court to testify. December 26th.

Yep. Thats what we get for doing the right thing. Now we have to close the store on one of the biggest days of the year and lose money... great.

 

[f8&go]

This stuff is a pain, but necessary.

If your boss writes the judge a letter he can probably get this re-scheduled,
simple as that. Don't waste time doiing it.

 

[BrianShaw]

Oh, crud. Do try the letter/call to the court. If they can't reschedule perhaps they can do their business with just one of you testifying. Let them know that requiring both of you to testify will cause signifcant economic injury to the business.

 

[RdEoSg]

There is a possibility I guess that we can be placed on call. The courthouse happens to be literaly around the corner from us. We can walk to it, so if that is the case at least it would only be a few hours hopefully..

It just annoys me. I mean what do they expect us to testify about. He is charged with knowingly trying to sell stolen property. Well he admitted to the police that he brought the camera in to sell. He certainly didn't tell me "hey this is stolen, want it?" so what do they want with me. Yea he came in. Yea he had the camera. No he did not tell me it was stolen. End of story. All of which is in the police report and confirmed by him.

 

[BrianShaw]

I mean what do they expect us to testify about. He is charged with knowingly trying to sell stolen property. Well he admitted to the police that he brought the camera in to sell. He certainly didn't tell me "hey this is stolen, want it?" so what do they want with me. Yea he came in. Yea he had the camera. No he did not tell me it was stolen. End of story.

I believe they will wan tyou to testify under oath to exactly that story. After all, YOU were the eyewitness so you have the "honor" of being the primary testimony. The admission to the police is wonderful, but there are lots of weasley ways out of having that count in court. For example, had he been "miranda-ized" when he admitted guilt; is there a possibility that he was coerced into admitting guilt; etc; etc. If you are annoyed now, just wait until it goes to trial. Haven't you been a juror and seen the fiascos that can occur?

Just keep repeating: "I'm being a good citizen."

 

[FrankS]

Many times, doing the right thing isn't the easiest thing to do, but it's still the right thing.

 

[BrianShaw]

Minor correction, Greyh-man... only the court. The police are pretty much out of the picture now, except to testify to their part of the incident/investigation. It is the District Attorney charging hte guy with the crime, not the police.

 

[Graham Line]

They need an eyewitness to make the statement for the court record if it goes to trial. That's how the system works; you get to face your accuser.
Have your boss call the deputy prosecutor handling the case, explain the situation and go from there.
If there are two eyewitnesses, chances are even they will enter a plea without going to trial, especially if the defendant has a record of similar prior offenses.
I'm not a lawyer, but have covered criminal courts.

 

[RdEoSg]

Nope I've succeeded in not getting picked for a jury so far! All I've seen is the jury room 😛... well.. I did see the OJ courtroom if that counts. I was in LA for a journalism class and we happened to be on the floor so we all took turns looking through the window at the room 😛

Yea I know its my civic duty and all, it's just bloody annoying! Hopefully they will allow us to call in so we can work part of the day anyways and just walk over once they actually need us.

 

[BrianShaw]

That would be the ideal situation for you, Chris... if the guy has the good sense to simply plead guilty rather than trying to get out of it via a trial. But if not, it's his constitutional right. But if he's violated his parole and the case is as solid as it sounds, even he should realize that he's going to have a hard time beating it... it's only a matter of time before he'll be back doing time.

 

[RdEoSg]

He was on parole or probation or something. I don't know how the law works with regard to that but yea I think that is probably why he is fighting it. If he pleads guilty, its not just the time for this, its the other time he faces for the violation.

 

[aad]

I was in a similar situation in a case involving a drunk driver, who smashed into a car in a parking lot, then passed out. I watched it, and called the police and an ambulance. The driver initially pled not guilty, but I was allowed to give a statement that was read into the record before trial.

If you give up, he walks. As Frank said, it's still the right thing to do, and logical if you realise he's going to suffer more than inconvenience if convicted.

 

[BrianShaw]

Hopefully they will allow us to call in so we can work part of the day anyways and just walk over once they actually need us.

If I recall correctly, these arraignment hearings happen at a very specific time of day. They shouldn't take long. When I've been on jury duty (assigned to a case) I recall the judge and baillif mentioning that this is what the judge does with his time before the trials are heard (before 9AM or so) and before the trials resume in the afternoon (around 2). But I've never been to one or seen one except through a crack in the door. It always pissed me off that these smelly convicts sat in the juror chairs during this process. I felt like bringing a can of Lysol to spritz the chair after they've been in it. Perhaps I have a weird pychological problem - but lice and crabs comes to mind when I think of prisoners and jails.

 

[Ash]

If you DO go on that date, file a complaint for loss of income as a cause of the date of trial, and rinse whoever is responsible for as much as you can. Warn them in advance, and hopefully you can have the trial on a different day, or else testify outside of the main hearing, possibly at an earlier date with fewer people about

 

[BrianShaw]

He was on parole or probation or something. I don't know how the law works with regard to that but yea I think that is probably why he is fighting it. If he pleads guilty, its not just the time for this, its the other time he faces for the violation.

I believe the parole violation will be kept apart from the present trial. At least that's what happened in a carjacking, high-speed pursuit, major car wreck, police assault case that I was once a juror on. They asked us to ignore the fact that the defendent was wearing an orange jump suit rather then a business suit. Periodically the prosecutor would mention something about the guys past that the judge would strike from the record. Once we were in the jury room, the evidence gave enough information for us to figure outthat he was one bad-assed guy who had previously done time for holding hostages, was shot by the SWAT team, and had done time. The funny thing is that the whole incident started because a police car slowed down in front of the motel where the defendent was soliciting a prostitute -- in violation of his parole terms. Had he kept his cool, the cop may have kept cruising by. But, no, he had to jump in a car and speed away. The parole violation seems to get handled separately, and I'm not sure if it matters whether the jury finds the guy guilty or not in terms of whether the parole violator ends up back in teh pokey or not. That's one of the mysteries of the judicial system to me.

 

[ebolton]

I was subpeonad last month as a witness. Short story is a guy had rolled his car in front of my house at 2:00 AM, and knocked on my door for help. The police eventually searched his car, and found it was full of dope.

A few days before the trial date, I called the D.A. to find out how much time I needed to be off from work. I was told the case got "pled out". Basically, they had him dead-to-rights with the dope in the car and my (anticipated) testimony putting him in the car. So, I never had to go. I'm told this is a pretty common scenario. If they are pretty sure you WILL testify, you might not HAVE to.

Ed

 

[BrianShaw]

Let's hope that this is the way Chris' case will go down. Some of these perps, however, will hold out until through the arraignment and into trial... right up to the point where the jury is assembled in the hall before they plead out. As a juror I've seen that scenario, too.

 

[julianphotoart]

For better or worse, you "are" the case against this guy. Police confession or no police confession, you are 100% a necessary witness for a host of reasons. In order to assist, may I ask a few questions:
1. Exactly what is the case number?
2. Exactly what is the case name (People vs. who?)
3. Exactly what Department or Division are you supposed to go to?
4. Have you been in contact with the City Attorney or District Attorney?
5. Have you actually been personally served with an actual subpoena/notice to appear?
6. Is this appearance for a trial or a "preliminary hearing" (or does the subpoena even say?)

I could write on and on about the various possibilities of what could happen to any criminal case between now and December 26th, but what I'd rather do is have you give me the information and, if you'd like, I could make sure that the court will permit you to be "on call". I'm a big believer in civic duty and doing what's right for our common good, but there nevertheless are things that can be done to accommodate witnesses like yourself.

If you'd rather handle this as a P.M., that's fine too. I happen to be a lawyer so I have access to people, phone numbers and stuff that might be useful. Feel free to contact me.

 

[f8&go]

julianphotoart,

I am glad you volunteered to act in this matter.
Credit to you & your profession.

RdEoSg,

Chill , talk to your boss & follow thru on Julian's
valuable offer.

Also consider: there's good reason why this guy is considered
innocent until proven guilty, that's not for you to
decide despite your intimate involvement in this matter.
You are required to be a part of that process. Also
consider that you may someday be involved in the
'justice' system and wil need for other reluctant parties
to step up and honestly do what is needed.

Good luck.

 

[RdEoSg]

I understand that, it's just more of an annoyance than anything. I don't know anything that can prove his guilt or innocence really. But yea, I'll do my part anyways.

Julian, I'll send you a PM later tonight. I'm still at work now so I don't have time to write it all out at the moment!