I’ve been subpoenaed as a witness to testify in a rape/attempted murder trial. Very scary, gettng to work and having a document like that handed to me! :eek: Can anyone here tell me what to expect if I actually end up going to court? The hospital lawyers have already talked to me and helped set my mind at ease, but any real life anecdotes would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
yeah, ya’ll thought I was getting sued, didn’t you?
Expect to be asked some serious questions, and expect to be discredited. The prosecutor will try to be your best friend, while the defense counsel will try to make you look as flawed as possible.
Stick to your guns, and keep it simple. “I saw what I saw. . .”
Tripler
Been there once or twice.
No, not really. Subpoenas usually compel third party witnesses to a lawsuit to do stuff. There are other ways besides subpoenas to get parties to do stuff. Getting a subpoena indicates that you are not a party to the suit.
Just relax and answer every question to the best of your ability. If you don’t understand a question, ask them to rephrase it. Be honest. Don’t get angry if someone tries to twist your words, just explain what you mean as clearly as you can.
If your testimony is really important, the prosecutor will do some amount of ‘prep’, letting you know what they;ll ask.
always wait til the end of the question before attempting to answer it. If you need clarification, say so.
Do not embelish or add to the answer, if the answer is “no”, say that, and not “no, because .,…”
Pause a moment to allow for objection to be raised and answered. (ie, question, OBJECTION, ruling, then if you’re told by the judge to answer, answer it).
Think about your answer.
If you have any concern about giving out your address in open court, mention it before hand to the attorneys - I was allowed, given the nature of my relationship w/the procedings (I was running a correction center) to give my work address in open court vs. my home address which wasn’t listed.
I’ve been on the witness stand several times myself.
Oh yeah, and the party who calls you as a witness will ask you more open-ended questions such as, “What happened next?”
The opposing party will ask you more leading questions with yes/no answers in an attempt to box you in and put words in your mouth.
Opposing counsel may try to cut you off after you answer yes or no. If your answer calls for an explanation of your response, give your explanation. Don’t let counsel cut you off in your effort to tell the whole truth. If counsel tries to cut you off, ask the judge if you can finish your response.
The judge is your friend. Listen to and respect the judge at all times. Call the judge “your honor” and NOT “judge” or “sir”.
Weird this should come up just now, I was subpoenaed for the second time and testified at a court hearing just a week ago in a DUI case. That’s what I get for working in a lab…
Anyway, everyone else has given good advice. You want to be sure and go over the material you will be asked about thoroughly before you get up to the witness box. My brain threatened to freeze up at that point. Stick to the facts only and listen carefully to the questions. Don’t second guess. Don’t let anyone intimidate you. In my case, the defense counsel was really friendly before the hearing but while questioning me, suddenly not so much.
Actually, my biggest fear was tripping over my own feet on the way up to the stand. Try not to worry about it. 
Good point made about guessing, dwyr.
Do not guess. If you don’t know an answer, say you don’t know.
Know the difference between a “guess” and an “estimate”. They are entitled to your estimates, but not your guesses. Guesses are pure speculation, but estimates are based upon your knowledge. Here’s the old lawyer explanation showing the difference:
If I ask you, “How big is the desk in my office,” you would have to guess because you’ve never seen the desk before. If I ask you, “How big is this table right in front of you,” you would be able to give an estimate because you have seen the table.