Anyone given evidence in a crown court before?

[codlord]

I am a witness for the prosecution ( ) in a dangerous driving case coming up next month.

As I am such a good honest citizen I have never even been in a court room before and I was wondering if anyone has been in the same position before and could offer any advice?

When I get cross-examined by the defense lawyer I am guessing they are going to try and poo-poo my statement and my version of events to try and make it seem I really don't know what I am talking about.

Just a bit worried really, apparently I can't even have a copy of my police statement (made several months ago now) until the day of the case and can't have it in front of me while in court or anything like that.

[Vagrant No2]

I have given evidence as an 'expert witness' before in court regarding Motor Insurance claims . As a witness in your position you can only be asked what you saw , not what you thought you saw . If you did not see something clearly it can not be used as evidence .

KEEP CALM and take your time with your answers and stick , as I said , to exactly what you saw as best you remember . The procution , as you said , will try and poo poo your statement of events and put suggestions in your mind that in fact you were not where you were and did not see what you saw .
Keep it constant and clear and do not let them hassle you .

It is a couple of years since my last case , but I may have one to deal with from my old company soon .

Best of luck .

[Koi]

As Rick has said, don't get angry or take it personally if they try to make you look silly, thats their job. They get paid to defend and if that means putting doubt in your mind or words in your mouth to make you seem indecisive they will stay calm. Listen to them carefully and take a thought pause before you answer, stick to what you saw and don't get involved with it to much. Once you get annoyed they win.
All that said if they start to cross the line they will be pulled up on it, its not as bad as it is on the telly.
Enjoy the experience.

[Chillitt]

and wear a suit!!

[da SLUG man]

yeah, just think about what you're going to say first!... i usualy have trouble with that!

[TAZMAN]

and dont wear a Burberry chav hat or shell suit. Good luck.

[richw]

Hi

and dont wear a Burberry chav hat or shell suit. Good luck.

As a retired copper, I can tell you that the defence idiot will try and wind you up. It is his job. The answer is to slow him down. Listen to his question...think about the question...then answer like it is (or was). If he starts to hassle you for a fast answer, look at the Judge and say ' Are you going to protect me from this idiot ?'.
Above all, don't worry. If the defence idiot tries to scare you, close your eyes and imagine him sat on the bog with his trollies rolled down to his ankles. If you laugh when doing this, and you are asked by the Judge why you're laughing....tell him what you're doing and why you're doing it....!!!!

[exmee46]

Agree with all the above advice but would add that your biggest problem may be being messsed about because the defendant doesn't turn up on the day.

Good luck tho' - we all benefit when idiots are taken out of circulation.

Kev

[codlord]

Cheers for all your advice people, especially richw - I will deffo try not to let the defense get me flustered, and maybe even try one of your ideas!

Agree with all the above advice but would add that your biggest problem may be being messsed about because the defendant doesn't turn up on the day.

Well, I suppose thats always possible but the guy seemed like a "respectable-ish" businessman/salesman type so less likely to no-show than some chav, also I (and even the copper on scene) really thought he would just plead guilty as he really has no defense (certainly no defense witnesses), so as its going to court I reckon he must think he has a chance to get off or get it down to a lesser offence or something, but I guess we will see...

[cockybundoo]

Follow the advice given so far and you won't go wrong. The only other advice I can give is to answer the question you are being asked, not the one that you think will come up next. This is an old trick to make it look as though you are trying to evade that particular question.

Also be confident, there will be lots of 'are you sure?' (I'll try and make this guy sound confused), if the way you tell it is what happened don't doubt yourself and give a nice clear 'yes'.
You will be nervous to start off with, but you will warm into it trust me. As everyone says, if you tell it as it was, no one can trip you up and you will find answering the questions very easy.

At the end of the day, he is playing the game and the defence are performing for the audience. If he has no true defence, all they can say is that your lying but more than likely they will go for the 'you must be confused' or the popular 'alternative version of the same events'.
The last one is very popular, especially if you are a confident witness, because the prosecution have to prove beyond reasonable doubt and they have created that doubt by offering another version of events to the jury. This is the one that jurys seem to fall for every time.

Just enjoy the experience

[codlord]

Just an update on this thread - I finally got to give evidence in court last week (more than a year after the offence!) - thanks to your advice I was confident about my answers and didnt let the defence lawyer get to me (he did try though, asking the most stupid questions or questioning where I was or what I saw or trying to get me to agree with his version of one point 3 times when I had already said I was unsure! - just stuck to my guns tho and I think he soon saw he was not going to get any joy)

The guy got found guilty and got 12 months disqualification with an extended re-test at the end and £1000 fine. Plus his insurance is gonna be a killer after that too - prob gonna be paying for that little mistake for the rest of his life.