crown court

[jannyneve]

sorry if im in the wrong category,if someone is served with a summons to appear in court and they are the key witness and they refuse to take the stand what will happen to the trial?

[coyote]

Firtsly is it a summons or suponea. You must be clear on this. Failing to comply can result in a charge of contempt of court. An offence that has quite serious penalties.

The trial without a key witnesses is likely to collapse or have the charges withdrawn, depends on the view the CPS take.

If a summons or suponea has been issued it would be wise to seek legal advice.

[Grunty]

I agree with coyote. Failing to comply with that document can be serious, and depending on the seriousness of the case could result in a prison sentence. There are not many circumstances when a witness summons is issued; the most common is when the prosecution know that the witness is unwilling to attend, so they are doing all they can to prevent the loss of the high costs of the investigation and the court process.

I agree that you should either turn up or see a lawyer for advice. Taking the stand is an American expression. If you decide to ask for more advice on Answerbank, you should say which country you are speaking from.

[Peter Pedant]

They need legal advice as above as refusing to testify as a witness COULD be held to be contempt of court. Contempt COULD be bad news.

If the key witness is being threatened, then they need to report this,

what they shouldnt do, is just not turn up and read about it in the papers.

If it is key witness for the defence, then the trial goes ahead and the fella gets convicted.

Answer bank is not really the right place for asking about advice which if followed can land you in a whole lot of trouble. Get legal advice and the quicker the better.