Court Witness Preparation

NOTE- These courses are not coaching courses and
specific evidence of a live case will not be discussed. The
content of the course has been seen and approved by the
CPS and will only cover generalities to make the
perspective witness feel and appear more confident and
professional in court.
We also cannot give this course for people who are
defending a case due to the need for professional Defence
advice. The course is only for a defence or prosecution
WITNESS.
In some companies, employees and even Management are
sometimes going to be called to court to give evidence as a
witness. Most people called as witnesses have never had to
go to court before. They will naturally feel nervous about
giving evidence in court. The formality and the legal
language may appear confusing. Witnesses may feel
anxious about giving evidence in front of the accused and
other people they do not know in an open court.
Most criminal trials take place in a magistrates’ court and if
the defendant pleads guilty they will not be required to
attend or give evidence.
More serious cases are usually sent to the crown court and
will be heard in front of a jury if the offender denies the
offence.
A witness is someone who is asked to tell the court about
something that happened. The witness is not on trial and is
not in trouble with the court. He or she only has to tell the
truth.
A person is only called to be a witness because they have
something to tell (called 'evidence') which may help a
prosecution or defence in the case of a criminal court or a
person (a 'party') who is making a claim or disputing a claim
made through a civil court.
A civil court deals with non-criminal matters, for example:
family proceedings, including divorce and adoption;
examining the cause of death of a person
claims for debt; and claims for damages to compensate
for personal injury or damage to property.
A person might be asked to be a witness because, for
example, they have seen an incident take place, and are
able to say how it happened.
In this case they are called a 'witness of fact'; or they have a
special qualification, knowledge or skill (doctor, dentist,
plumber, builder, mechanic), and can give a professional
opinion (a 'report'), about injuries, the state of repair of a
motor vehicle or the quality of building work done by others.
In this case they are called an 'expert witness'.