witness in court

[wagg12]

Ive received a witness summons to give evidence against my husband for minor assualt,ive been told by the cjs that I can refuse to give evidence.I will have to attend court to satisfy the summons but the court cant make me give evidence,I understand that if I do this will i be in contempt of court,the cjs said i would have no repercussions,realistically can I be charged with this,the assualt was on myself,we are trying to mend are boken marriage,he has no bail conditions and is living with me,any advice would be appreciated thanks

[Barmaid]

The CPS take any form of domestic violence extremely seriously. If you have been summonsed, the prosecutor COULD apply for a warrant for your arrest and you could be arrrested and brought to court. If you do attend/are brought to court and you refuse to give evidence, you can be treated as a hostile witness (ie your original statement can be put to you). If you attend court (either under summons or of your own volition) you CAN be compelled to give evidence under PACE although generally this will be as a hostile witness.

In theory you could be charged, but I have never seen it done - but I cannot guarantee it.

To be fair, the police/CPS are prosecuting a case that resulted from a complaint you (or presumably someone close to you) made. In cases of DV, it is often the case that the victim is unwilling to proceed on the basis her other half "acted out of character" or "will never do it again". Experience tells us that this is not the case.

[paraffin]

It's extremely difficult giving advice in these situations because none of we who reply knows the full facts, only the bits you have chosen to tell us.

For example, you refer to a "minor assault"? So I have to assume that you're talking about the offence of Common Assault? If so, a conviction carries a maximum 6 months imprisonment. Were you injured? It could affect the eventual outcome of the case.

You must remember that it was no one else but presumably you who set this process in motion by lodging your initial complaint of assault. The Police and CPS are there to act on your behalf, gather evidence and, if seen fit, to bring a prosecution on the basis of that evidence.

Therefore, your intention not to give evidence will certainly be viewed dimly by the Court, for the good reasons that not only is it an expense to the public purse, but you have presumably made a written statement of complaint in which you would have stated that you are willing to attend Court to give evidence in this matter?

The assumption that you have changed your mind cannot eradicate your initial complaint and wasting Police and/or Court time can be construed as an offence.

I'm somewhat taken aback that not only is your husband/assailant living with you but was also granted unconditional Bail?

You ask for "advice", and as I said at the beginning, it's difficult, but I would say to you that, based on experience, and especially if he has done this on any other occasion(s), there is a high risk to you that it may happen again. Sorry if that's not what you want to hear but perhaps had you given fuller details it would be easier to try to help you.

[wagg12]

the week before the incident my husband was involved in a incident at work where a close friend sustained spinal injury involing machinary my husband had passed being the health and safety officer on site,on the night of the incident it wasmy birthday and we had been out for a drink but neither of us were drunk,he was breathalized on arrest and was 78,which to my knowledge is twice the legal limit roughly 4 pints.I can even tell you how it happened ,it happened in a split second,I sustained a small bruise to my eye,I did call the police as I was scared,t was all over in a second and my husband was in bed when the police arrived.after 2 days I signed a retraction statement,but when he appeared in court I thought It would make a good impression if I went with him,I was spoken to by somone there an they implied that i would be issued with a witness summons and to volutary give evidence at the trail would be better,at this point i was crying and just agreed,however I have never wanted to give evidence and my husbands solicitor has said tehy only want me to appear as they have no evidence.I love my husband and i know this wasa result of stress at work he also has issues concerning his children that dont live with us,im not making excuses for his behaviour but want to get this out of the way if he is found guilty anyway so be it,but im finding this is affecting my life more than the actual incident,iam a student nurse and have exams at the time of the trial so this could affect my course,I am not the sort of person to deliberatly waste police time but on reflection I think not giving evidence would cause me less upset and stress just at a time when I dont need it,

[wagg12]

i forgot to say that the arressting officer rang me and asked if i bail conditions.i said no and he was allowed to come home