To be scared of going to court.

[InCourt]

Name changed as this could out me, not going to list the usual list like Pom bears ect.

A few weeks ago I witnessed an assault, which I phoned the police ASAP. I had my DC in the car ( the assault was because of road rage)

The man who got assaulted had passengers, so didn't check him out but DH kept a safe distance while I was on the phone to the police letting them know where the driver was heading.

Well the man suffered a broken jaw and is in a lot of pain still and the assaulter is denying everything.

No matter what I will go to court, but I am so nervous. The problem is I have a stammer normally I can control it very well but I know in court I will be stammering and don't want the courts to think I am lying.

OP I have done this and you know what, I didn't even need to testify. Apparently,loads of witnesses don't turn up to court cases, and according to the lawyer, often when the defendant realise someone has turned up to testify they change their plea to guilty and then you never even go inside the court.

One piece of advice, take something to do as you sit around in the witness room for yonks and it is bloody boring! I brought some mindless paperwork which was perfect.

I hope this thug does admit it.

It's been hard on my children as they have never seen violence before this.

But you did the right thing. I know, I have actually called the police twice about assaults and it feels really grotty and horrible, and you worry somehow there will be payback for you. But it is being a good citizen, and your DC will hopefully learn the lesson that when someone is violent, good people stand up, and they get punished.

If (and it's a big if) you are required in court, tell the police liaison officer about Your stammer and nervousness. Find out which court it will be heard in and go and sit in on a couple of case so you know what to expect. Demistifying the process might help?

Thank god for people like you in the world.

The police have been fantastic, the one has DC around the same age and by the police officer just say we will catch the bad guy has made the DC see it in a positive way.

I can assure you they won't assume you're lying because you stammer. I can't speak for them on this, but I personally would be impressed at your guts and assume you wouldn't put yourself through an ordeal harder than for non stammerers unless you fully had faith in what you were saying.

Well done op I think you are incredibly brave.
I hope the poor man who got attacked gets well soon and the horrible attacker gets the book thrown at him!

The stammer won't make them think you are lying. The judge and court staff should be very supportive towards you as a witness who is there helping the system. It's a scary thing to do but absolutely the right thing to do.

As others have said he might plead guilty in the end anyway.

I agree with RevoltingPeasant - the fact that you have turned up in court as a witness will be relayed to the defendant and his lawyer, and a guilty plea (and sentence reduction) starts to look more attractive to them.

You are very brave. Well done in advance.

On behalf of people the attacker won't be attacking in future... good luck, thank you, and may the book (and a prison sentence) be thrown at him!

Well Done on being so brave. You are being such a fantastic example of doing the right thing not the easy thing.

If it ends up in court, just make sure solicitors/judges are made aware of your stammer.

What a horrible thing to witness x

Well done OP!

As for the stammer, you WILL be believed. I've sat on two juries and a witness had a speech impediment. The judge warned us not to make any inference from it.

If you give evidence, the prosecution will go first. Then the defence may ask you questions, usually along the lines of "are sure you saw what you said you did?" Play it straight. Yes, No, I refer you to my statement.

If the defence tries something like "you phoned from your car, were you phoning while driving?", tell the truth. CPS do not prosecute witnesses who might be doing something a little naughty. I witnessed a death while speeding, I was asked and I admitted it with the single word "Yes".

Good luck and courage.

Yes, if you were on the phone whilst driving, point out you were reporting a violent crime in progress and it was an emergency.

look forward to seeing the bastard sent down.

I think the OP's DH was driving while OP was on the phone.

I hope it all goes well for you, OP.

Speak to the witness care unit about getting 'special measures' the CPS can apply for you to give evidence from behind a screen if it helps you give better evidence

I've been cross-examined in court (for 2 days!). Tough, but not as bad as you think and nowhere near as dramatic as stuff you see on TV.

Just focus on answering the question accurately. Ignore everything and everyone else, except thd judge, but especially ignore snide tones etc from the questioner (though it might all be quite low-key). You're not there to 'win' or 'lose', just to tell your story calmly. The outcome of the case is not your responsibility, don't let anyone put pressure on you.