One day when you arrived at home, you found mail from the court. Basically, it is stated that you are summoned to court. The thing is that you do not think that you did something wrong. In this case, you may be wondering if it is possible to be summoned to court without being charged. So, can you be summoned to court without being charged?
The answer to the question is yes. It is possible for you to be summoned to court without being charged. You can be summoned to court as a witness or a victim and not as a defendant. In this case, actually the term “subpoena” is correct rather than “summon”. If you are summoned as a victim or a witness, you will be summoned to court without being charged.
If you were either a victim or a witness to a defendant, you may get a subpoena that informs you when you have to come to court. Not only that, you will also know who is calling you to court. It is possible for the Crown prosecutor or defense lawyer to speak with you in order to know the thing that you know about the case. They will usually do it before they decide to call you as a witness. When you are asked by them, feel free to answer these questions or not. Even if you do not want to, it is fine. However, if either attorney subpoenas you as a witness, it means it is a must for you to go to court.
For anyone who gets a subpoena, you are suggested to arrange your time. Make sure to go because if you do not, there is a chance of you being charged with contempt of court and issued a warrant for your arrest. To avoid this horrible thing, just go, even though it may take too much of your time. Talking about the time, no one knows how long you will be in court. It could take hours or even days. In some cases, you could also be required to go to court more than once. Remember to always be available to the court until you are allowed to leave by the judge.
If you have an issue with expenses, you are advised to ask the attorney who subpoenaed you if it is possible for you to apply for witness expense assistance. For your information, witnesses who are required to attend court in a community outside their home community can get assistance with the expenses involved in travelling to another community. If the prosecution lawyer (either Crown or PPSC) is the one that subpoenaed you, go reach out to the Civilian Witness Coordinator by calling 867-669-6900.
When you go to court, do not forget to bring the subpoena. Not only that, you should also bring any documents with you. In addition, you should also bring any other items that are listed in the subpoena or that the attorneys and police have asked you to bring. If you think you need a few documents, you are suggested to make copies of them for yourself because it may take a long time for you to get the original ones back.
When the trial starts, it may be needed for you to wait outside the courtroom. It usually lasts long until it is time for you to testify. The judge usually decides this because they are afraid you may listen to the trial, which may change your testimony. You may need to wait with the other witnesses or with the ones that are accused. In case you are worried about the other witnesses or the accused, please do not be. On the site, there will be police and sheriffs to provide security. If you are still not well even though police and sheriffs are around, you can try to ask the attorney who subpoenaed you if you are allowed to wait in a different room.
When your time to give testimony comes, you will move to the front of the courtroom close to the judge. At the time, the clerk will ask you to swear to tell the truth. During testifying, make sure to tell the truth. If you lie, it means you commit a crime called perjury. If you do it, you can be sentenced with a jail term of up to 14 years. In case you make a mistake, just tell the attorney who subpoenaed you about it and they will make sure your error is corrected in court.
At the beginning, the attorneys will ask you some questions. All of them are usually simple. These questions usually include things about you. Besides, they will also try to determine what you know about the alleged crime. When you are given the time to answer, make sure to answer all of them based on what you actually saw and heard. Do not provide the answers based on what you think probably happened. If you do not know about something, just say that you do not know. Avoid giving opinions unless you are asked by the attorneys to do so.
Giving testimony in court can be hard. One of the reasons that make it hard is because there is usually the accuser in the courtroom. Apart from that, you may also feel hard due to the questions that are asked to you. If you are wondering if it is okay for you to not answer the questions, everything will depend on the judge. They are the ones that will decide whether or not you have to answer these questions. In case you do not feel like wanting to answer a question allowed by the judge, you can be found in contempt of court and sent to jail for a short time. During the testifying, watch out for your attitude. Remember to always be polite. While it can make you stressed, just try to calm down. If you need time to calm down, ask the judge if you can have that.
A bookworm and researcher especially related to law and citizenship education. I spend time every day in front of the internet and the campus library.
