About a year ago me and a friend invited this one kid to go swimming with us at a creek and when we got there and got out of the truck he was all messed up so instead of taking him back i told him to call a family member to come and pick him up and he got all mad at me and a car came and picked him up and drove off later the next day he appearently went to the cops saying i pulled a gun on him and robbed him so they got a STATEMENT from me and the friend that was there with me. Later he was charged with perjury and me and my friend hafe to go to court to be a witness, but he has been harrassing me by calling me none stop so my question is do i hafe to testify against him? Ive never been to court and are really nervous so any suggestions?
Justice System, Police, Courts Being a witness in a perjury case ?
- Thread Starter yellow22
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bluemann33
New Member
he was charged with perjury or filing a false police report?? Don't be nervous the guy was trying to get you in some serious trouble! His lie could have put you away for many, many years not to mention the felony on your record so I would not feel bad for him at all. He is calling you now because he is in deep sh** as well he should be. He could have ruined your life. If he is being charged with filing a false report then he is facing a misdemeanor and he SHOULD be punished for trying to ruin you and your friends life. His misdemeanor will teach him a lesson without ruining his life. Good Luck and dont feel bad, think of the time you could have gotten. By the way is he still trying to lie or is he calling you trying to be buddy buddy?
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fredrikklaw
Moderator
No; you cannot be forced to testify, but keep in mind that you and your friend ARE the prosecution's entire case and without your cooperation to testify on the stand the case will simply be dismissed against the accused.
More serious than perjury, is the crime of threatening and intimidating witnesses in a criminal case which is what the defendant is committing by calling and harassing you and at this stage of the game, it is very important that this act be reported to the police as well. He has already tried to put you in jail by filing a false report of basically attempted murder and he is now harassing you over the phone and I am sure he does not call to talk about the wheather or invite you over for Thanksgiving dinner. So, if this individual is as mentally unstable and devious as he sounds, then what stops him from showing up at your door to confront you personally or pull some other irreversible acts of criminal stupidity?
Normally, telephone conversations cannot be recorded save a court order tap, or if recorded will not admissible in any court proceedings. But in this situation when the individual is already being prosecuted for a criminal act who is also threatening the witness to boot, not only are you privileged to record his calls, but it will also be admitted as evidence to prove further culpability by the defendant.
Your nervousness for going to court for the first time should not be a factor in your decision as to be a witness or not, but whether you would be opening the door to more harassment and violence from this guy by refusing to testify. Not to mention the old age cliché about the kind of message your withdrawal as a witness will send to the this person in light of his harassment.
But at the very least, take precaution and do yourself a huge favor and go take out a restraining order against this person.
fredrikklaw
More serious than perjury, is the crime of threatening and intimidating witnesses in a criminal case which is what the defendant is committing by calling and harassing you and at this stage of the game, it is very important that this act be reported to the police as well. He has already tried to put you in jail by filing a false report of basically attempted murder and he is now harassing you over the phone and I am sure he does not call to talk about the wheather or invite you over for Thanksgiving dinner. So, if this individual is as mentally unstable and devious as he sounds, then what stops him from showing up at your door to confront you personally or pull some other irreversible acts of criminal stupidity?
Normally, telephone conversations cannot be recorded save a court order tap, or if recorded will not admissible in any court proceedings. But in this situation when the individual is already being prosecuted for a criminal act who is also threatening the witness to boot, not only are you privileged to record his calls, but it will also be admitted as evidence to prove further culpability by the defendant.
Your nervousness for going to court for the first time should not be a factor in your decision as to be a witness or not, but whether you would be opening the door to more harassment and violence from this guy by refusing to testify. Not to mention the old age cliché about the kind of message your withdrawal as a witness will send to the this person in light of his harassment.
But at the very least, take precaution and do yourself a huge favor and go take out a restraining order against this person.
fredrikklaw
mightymoose
Moderator
If you are receiving harassing phone calls, especially if they are continuous or contain threats, then you need to notify the police. Keep a written record of the calls that includes time/date and the number if it shows on the ID.
He can potentially be charged with another offense for making repeated harassing calls.
You can also get a restraining order against him- with an order in place he will commit a new misdemeanor every time he makes a call, regardless of what he says.
He can potentially be charged with another offense for making repeated harassing calls.
You can also get a restraining order against him- with an order in place he will commit a new misdemeanor every time he makes a call, regardless of what he says.
army judge
Super Moderator
The defendant should not be contacting you for any reason.
Report those contacts to the prosecutor.
As far as testifying, just tell the truth.
Testify to best of your recollection.
If you don't remember, just say so.
Tell the truth, and you have nothing to worry about.
Report those contacts to the prosecutor.
As far as testifying, just tell the truth.
Testify to best of your recollection.
If you don't remember, just say so.
Tell the truth, and you have nothing to worry about.
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