Having to go to court...what is likely to happen?

[Jenarry]

Me and my bf are having to appear in court in a few days time against my bf's ex partner who assaulted us both nearly a year ago.
At the time of the incident she was due up in court for breaking the terms of a harassment order against us..she physically attacked us and a month or two later she had her court date where she was found guilty of breaking her harassment order and given an 18 month suspended sentence.
So now she is going through the court again for assaulting us.
She was up in court in December for it but she plead not guilty and it has been put off til May and we (and possibly the 4 independent witnesses) are having to attend.
I have never been to court before so I'm feeling a bit apprehensive. we haven't had much information from anyone and so i don't know what the day will hold for us. Can anyone give me an idea.
will i have to stand up and give evidence . will i end having to sit in the same waiting room as her. she used to worry me before but now she has been physical and she's obviously not a rational person I'm really worried now.
Also on the legal side as she was waiting to go to court when this happened and then received the suspended sentence shortly after does it stand against this incident and will they be tough with her?

[Buenchico]

Don't worry. The worst thing that can happen is that you'll die of boredom! Some courts hear as many 40 cases per day. If you're well down the list (or a preceding case takes longer than expected) you could be left hanging around for hours.

Most courts have a witness suite, so it's unlikely that you'll come into contact with the defendant outside of the courtroom.

Chris

[ladyalex]

You can go to the public gallery of any court and see for yourself what the atmosphere is like.
Do you have a local Victim Support scheme ?
If you do, give them a ring and I'm sure they give you some help.
http://www.victimsupport.org/
Good luck on the day.

[starone]

If she has offended again and is found guilty she will have to serve the original sentence plus the additional one which the judge gives her.

[Jenarry]

ah that's reassuring to know buenchico about the separate waiting area. the long wait not so good. I'll be taking a good reading book with me then.
ladyalex there was an option on the letter that informed us of being called to court to have victim support contact us but my bf got a bit funny about it and said 'oh we don't need that' and ticked no without giving me the option really. still peed off about that to be honest. :O(
starbuckone i hope so. i hope they throw the book at her. she attacked us in front of her two children that she was in charge of and my son who was 5 at the time ,injured me and scared the hell out of all of us. :O(

[New Judge]

Although courts do deal with long lists, trials are listed separately. The trial in which you are involved may be “double booked” with another. The court usually double books as a large number of trials do not proceed for various reasons. If both trials are ready to go the court will have to decide if they can accommodate both or if one has to be adjourned to another day, so be prepared for that.

Every court has a Witness Support service:

http://www.victimsupp...rg/Help-for-witnesses

They will be there to see you through the trial day, but if you contact them earlier they can arrange for you to visit the court beforehand.

You will be kept in a separate waiting room to the defendant, though the layout of some courts makes it impossible to ensure that witnesses and defendants can be kept apart entirely. Tell the Witness Support service of any concerns you may have and they will help you.

If you do have to give evidence it will be on oath (or affirmation if you prefer). The prosecutor will ask you questions about the events you witnessed. These will be based around the statement you gave to the police (which you will be able to see beforehand to refresh your memory). You wll probably be cross-examined by the defendant's advocate (and be prepared to have your version of events challenged). Finally, be prepared for delays and possible adjournments.

[Jenarry]

Thankyou newjudge. the police almost didn't take the matter to court as they said it was our word against hers then we reminded them that there were 4 independent witnesses who were willing to give statements(this was i our original statement but they seemed to have missed it) and so it has come to this stage.
As they seem to put more weight on the word of the independent witnesses are they likely to call them for evidence and get what they need from them and us not have to give evidence..I am willing to do this of course I'm just very nervous!

[New Judge]

If you have been asked to attend court then it is more than likely that you will be required to give evidence (assuming the trial goes ahead).

[Jenarry]

Right okay. That's fair enough . And I feel so much better for having the background information to what may happen on the day.my memory isn't great (and it did all escalate really quickly)so i'll definitely be looking over my original statement. Thank you New judge and everyone.

[Jenarry]

We went to this court date today. God it was nerve-wracking but I knew we had to go through with it else the mad ex will keep up her abusive behaviour.
Thank you again to New Judge for your advice it was spot on. Especially the part warning me about the defendant's advocate challenging my version of events. The ex had a completely different story of course that he was putting to me which took me by surprise a bit...but after the kind judge's reassurance I think I dealt with it ok.

[Jenarry]

And buenchico you was right about the separate waiting rooms. ..and the lovely victim support ladies were fantastic and made sure we didn't run into the ex in the hallway or at the only cafe during the wait. We just had to see her in the court room.