So I am going to be a witness in court tomorrow . . .

Mad4stevie · #1 08-01-2005, 07:14 PM

Ugh. I am going to be called as a defense witness tomorrow in the criminal trial of an attorney that I worked with at my former firm. Needless to say, I am not looking forward to rehashing the details of that highly dysfunctional atmosphere.

It is going to be weird for me because I am used to being the one asking the questions (I am a litigation attorney). Has anyone else been a witness at a court proceeding?

littlecricket2 · #2 08-01-2005, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad4stevie

Ugh. I am going to be called as a defense witness tomorrow in the criminal trial of an attorney that I worked with at my former firm. Needless to say, I am not looking forward to rehashing the details of that highly dysfunctional atmosphere.

It is going to be weird for me because I am used to being the one asking the questions (I am a litigation attorney). Has anyone else been a witness at a court proceeding?

Good luck tomorrow! I've never been called as a witness, but I was a juror in a first degree murder trial when I was 21.

amber · #3 08-01-2005, 07:16 PM

Wow, interesting. No I haven't. It probably won't be too bad, though.
Good luck.

GateandGarden · #4 08-01-2005, 07:20 PM

I never have been a witness either, but I just wanted to say good luck, Heather.

xxxmx · #5 08-01-2005, 07:20 PM

i've done everything in my power to stay out of a courtroom, i believe it would take more than a subpoena or jury summons (of which i received six in two years while in college - total hassle, got out of every one).

i think if i really had something to say and had nothing to hide, it wouldn't be so bad. plus, one can meet many rich and powerful men in a courtroom

Dreammms · #6 08-01-2005, 07:21 PM

I hope everything goes well for you Heather.

DrummerDeanna · #7 08-01-2005, 07:29 PM

ew. Good luck Heather - hope all goes well.

I've never been called as a witness...but a few years ago I was accused of hitting and running in Albuquerque, NM. Only problem? WEll I was in San Jose, California when the accident happend..WITH my car.

The witness gave a wrong license plate number, that ended up being mine - it was awful. I was arraigned - then I had to go back for a trial. I was up on the stand and everything.

Needless to say - I was found not-guilty and then the judge was pissed and told the other side to do their research BEFORE going to trial lol....it was such a gargantuan waste of time.

Mad4stevie · #8 08-01-2005, 07:57 PM

Yeah - the problem is that my testimony tomorrow is going to be about the sexual harassment of the person who is on trial tomorrow for "stealing" client money from the firm. Basically after my attorney friend left the firm (2 years after I had already left), he filed a sexual harassment claim against them. One of the managing partners was gay, and so was my friend. He was harassed by this partner and I found out about it. I was threatened by the partner not to disclose what I knew to anyone.

The defense is that records were doctored to make it look like my friend was stealing client money and that this was only done in retaliation for his filing of the sexual harassment claim.

So you can see that there is going to be alot of drama tomorrow in that courtroom. And I basically am the "star witness" for the defense to put in all the testimony about the sexual harassment.

Too much drama for me

littlecricket2 · #9 08-01-2005, 08:01 PM

Well, good luck! They're gonna try to find holes/contradictions in your story and make you look like a liar or flaky, so keep a cool head! But you probably know all that already, being a lawyer,

.

gldstwmn · #10 08-01-2005, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad4stevie

Yeah - the problem is that my testimony tomorrow is going to be about the sexual harassment of the person who is on trial tomorrow for "stealing" client money from the firm. Basically after my attorney friend left the firm (2 years after I had already left), he filed a sexual harassment claim against them. One of the managing partners was gay, and so was my friend. He was harassed by this partner and I found out about it. I was threatened by the partner not to disclose what I knew to anyone.

The defense is that records were doctored to make it look like my friend was stealing client money and that this was only done in retaliation for his filing of the sexual harassment claim.

So you can see that there is going to be alot of drama tomorrow in that courtroom. And I basically am the "star witness" for the defense to put in all the testimony about the sexual harassment.

Too much drama for me

Wow. I'll be interested to hear how this all shakes out.
I've never made it past being called for jury duty and then not getting picked to serve on any jury. I got sent home.

GODDESS6 · #11 08-01-2005, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad4stevie

Ugh. I am going to be called as a defense witness tomorrow in the criminal trial of an attorney that I worked with at my former firm. Needless to say, I am not looking forward to rehashing the details of that highly dysfunctional atmosphere.

It is going to be weird for me because I am used to being the one asking the questions (I am a litigation attorney). Has anyone else been a witness at a court proceeding?

GOOD LUCK!!!~ i am sure it will all go well!!!~

strandinthewind · #12 08-01-2005, 09:16 PM

I know you know this - but answer only the question asked.

Best of Luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sugar · #13 08-01-2005, 09:55 PM

Not nearly as harrowing as what you're facing, but I once had to testify against a guy who came into the jewelry store where I worked and tried to sell stolen jewelery. Real bitch is that I knew him from high school, we worked in the same resturant in high school. They brought it up when I had to ID him there in the courtroom as "the one who came in with the jewelry," I guess to seal my identification of him.

I had to ID the pieces of jewelry ("Exhibits A, B," etc.), and then the defense asked if I gave a receipt or something like that and I said "No" (I was a runner. I was almost never in the shop. I happened to be in it that day and just grabbed the counter quick since I was there). And when I did, the kid I was testifying against sarcasticly shook his head and mouthed "NOOOOO" to me, like this was the thing that was going to get him off. Sad, pathetic...

Just get through it.

It's gonna suck. Plan to get a massage or two scoops of your favorite ice cream afterwards or something.

Violet · #14 08-02-2005, 08:54 AM

A little late posting this, but I had to testify in a murder trial about 5 or 6 years ago. They do criminal depos in Florida, and I can't remember who the witness was, but they accused me of ADDING four words into the transcript that weren't said. They were clear as a bell in my steno notes.

But the kicker is the way they got me into court. The defense attorney called me AT HOME the night before and asked if I could come in the next day to testify. I was scheduled the next day for an all-day job, which means good money. I told him I couldn't, and I wouldn't do it without a subpoena anyway, and I think they're supposed to give 3 days notice or something like that. So after about 30 minutes of his pleading, we hung up and I thought it was over. WRONG. Next day he actually called me at my job and threatened to have the Sheriff's Office come into my job, handcuff me and bring me to court. I was so pissed. Thank God I was with nice attorneys that day, and the office I was at was only 10-15 minutes from the criminal complex. So they said to go.

So I went and I was so nervous that I spoke too fast when going through my qualifications and background and the court reporter had to slow me down! How sad is that?

Anyway, I did just what Jason said, answered only the question asked: "Yes, sir," "No, sir."

I also testified once when I was 16. I was assaulted and had to testify in juvenile court against the guy. He was the son of a family friend so the ID was easy. Other than I don't remember much of that one...too long ago.

Good luck, Heather!

Carol

Mad4stevie · #15 08-02-2005, 08:53 PM

Thanks to everyone who lended support during an anxiety-producing time today.

I was in court for 5 hours waiting to testify. I would be told, "You're next" and then they would call some other witness, and then tell me, "You're next" again . . . and again . . . and again. It happened four f*cking times. Talk about nerve wracking!

Anyway, I get in there and tell about my background, etc. then the defense attorney (who I am a witness for) starts asking me if I had knowledge of the sexual harassment, which I said, "Yes". He asked me what I knew about it, who I talked to, etc. In other words, a WIDE open question. I figured the best way to start was by mentioning all the partners, administrators in the firm that I had conversations with regarding the harassment to show that they knew damn well it was happening and did nothing about it. So I named off all the people, including the partner that harassed my friend and who threatened me.

As I started to go into detail regarding what I knew had happened, the District Attorney objected to the relevance of the information (i.e. the sexual harassment). The attorneys had a side bar with the judge and the judge stated that he wasn't going to allow the defense attorney to try "a case within a case"; in other words, the judge would not allow the defense to try the sexual harassment suit against the firm inside the confines of this criminal matter, and basically would not allow any questions or testimony regarding that. Of course, this was unfortunate because of the defense perspective that these charges were fabricated by the firm only after they received notice of this very sexual harassment claim.

So . . . I did not really get into the details of what I really knew. On cross examination, I pissed off the District Attorney because he kept asking the same hypothetical questions over and over expecting a different response. Of course, as a lawyer, I kept giving him the same answer that he didn't want.

Eventually, he just gave up after getting too flustered in his questioning. I guess I did a good job for the defense in some respects!

Thanks again for all your support and I am glad to put this behind me!