Get Ahead in Your Personal Injury Case

How To Avoid Testifying In Court – Legally

10 March 2015 by Kenneth Pierce

There are cases when the government may want you to testify in court, whether or not it is your wish to do so. This is called being subpoenaed. However, the law recognizes that there may be reasonable grounds for declining such a directive. For example, you may be excused from testifying if doing so would:

Present a Hardship to You

In this case, you are basically saying that while you do not object to testifying per se, it would cause you significant hardship to do it. For example, it may be that you are living or working thousands of miles from the court where you are supposed to testify. Another example is if you got your request to testify too near the date of the trial, and you don't have enough time to organize yourself.

Note that this form of protest may not absolve you from the obligation completely; the court may opt for a compromise. For example, you may be asked to provide a written account of the issue at hand, or (if your testimony is crucial to the case) the testimony date may be postponed.

Involve Self-Incrimination

You may also object to the subpoena by showing that you might incriminate yourself if you do give the testimony. This objection is based on the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, which gives you the right to decline giving testimony if it might land you in legal problems.

An example is if you are asked to testify in a case in which you are also one of the defendants. Perhaps you received a subpoena before you were also mentioned or conjoined in the case. Once you have also been mentioned as a defendant, you can inform the authorities of this fact and plead the Fifth Amendment.

Be Unethical

The court may also excuse you if you can show that giving the testimony is unethical. This objection must have a legal grounding; the courts will not just take your word for it. There are laws or codes governing ethics for certain professions that you may use as your basis for seeking to be excused.

For example, if you are a priest, then it is unethical for you to tell the courts what a defendant revealed to you in a confession. Other professionals who may have confidentiality protection guidelines include lawyers and psychotherapists.

Note that in all these situations, the court will not just take your word for it. As explained above, you have to base it on legal rights. Obviously, you can strengthen your position by involving a lawyer like Edward Galang Law to help you with the process.

Share

Search