Criminal court for DV

[Queenie6655]

Hello all

I have a court case due to DV caused by my ex
The witness protection team previously said that I could attend remotely
The DC from the Met has recently said it seems likely I need to attend

Just wondering if anyone has tips to prepare for this?

I plan on reading out my victim personal statement

But the thing Is I want to only have to attend for a short time and not hang around in case I see him
I have requested a screen
Some of my family think i should just face him but i can't

Any advice would be very much appreciated

Hi OP I’ve been in court cases with screens. The judge, clerk and jury will be able to see you, and you them. Whichever barrister is examining/cross examining you will also probably move into your eye line. He will be locked in a dock at the back of court and will not be able to see you, nor you him. The witness care should arrange for him to be taken out the rear of court while you enter and take your seat. Anyone in the public gallery will be unable to see you.

Ah that's a relief

Thanks so so much

Hope you managed ok
What a scary time

The creep is up for multiple offences against me and my family

He will walk free
Perfect gent when you meet him
He's trying to make out in a psychotic lier 😡

Also - just to check
The DC was quizzing me when I said I experienced ptsd
It was discussed with my GP and I had psychotherapy but no formal diagnosis as such

Is there any reason the defence may quiz me over this / not accept that I had it (following many violent assaults )

--

I am worried how I will respond to his barristers going for me
I will either snap and cry or go silent

Dont snap OP. That is exactly what they will want. When I was in court about my ex and DV, his barrister really tried to get a rise out of me.

Ex lied saying I was the aggressor ( neighbours called the police and it was on record that he was attacking me when the police arrived ) and his barrister spent a long time trying to make me angry. The lies that were being told were appalling. Each time I would calmly say that is not true.

At one point pictures of my bruises and the bite Mark's were on the screen. The barrister tried saying the teeth Mark's were spots and when I said you can literally see the teeth Mark's in my skin he went on to say that I got my friend to attack me. When I said that wasnt true he went on to say that I could of been attacked in the past and took the photos at any time and now using them against my ex.

You have to remain calm.

I did get a little bit upset and said to his barrister that I didnt want to come here, the police asked me to come to give evidence and this isnt what I wanted
.I spoke to the judges and said I know this is just your job, you see this all day every day, but this is my life, please just help me keep him away from us. After I gave my evidence ( also had a screen up ) they asked me if I wanted to stay and listen to his evidence. I asked if I had to, they said no and i left

The attack stemmed from me not being able to quiet our 8 month old baby quick enough again. Our 2 year old also started getting upset and he flipped out on me.

He got a no contact order to stay away from me and the children and isnt allowed to contact or communicate with us unless authorised by family court, social services and a solicitor

Just keep calm OP and dont bite the bait.

Oh my gosh your story 😢😢😢😢

So so sorry to hear this

No I def must not snap
I will have to learn how to breathe deeply and respond slowly with 'that is not true '
That is incorrect

So so scared

He has lied non stop

Praying we all get a no contact order
Literally pray every day for this

Did that scum go to jail?
Mine will walk free
He will fool everyone I know it

@FeelVeryAwkward I am also planning to stay for as little time as possible and then go

They can call me with the verdict

Good luck for whenever it is @Queenie6655. Stay calm (his barrister will bait you and twist everything), speak clearly, be polite (of course you would be anyway) and don’t feel you have to pretend you’re not frightened. You will be frightened.
The evidence will speak for itself and he will show himself up.
All the best to you.

@ButIcantsitonleather
Thing is I sent him messages after a major attack calling him abusive scum
Low life , good for nothing etc
He already told me he now has evidence I'm an abuser

I'm not
Thankfully there are very few messages and I was never once abuseive I just snapped back after the last attack and said enough is enough
But they will use it against me !!!

Trying to prep myself for the shit they will fire my direction

Just because you have defended yourself in the past, doesn’t meant they’ll successfully paint you as the real abuser. He’s being done for attempted murder, is that right? He also has form (though that will be hidden from the jury so as to not prejudice the verdict) and he will be found guilty. You just believe that. A text message or two doesn’t compare to him violently attacking you. Don’t worry. Believe in yourself. You doubting yourself is just him still inside your head. That will go.
You’re protecting him from doing this to anymore women.

@ButIcantsitonleather
Yes attempted murder

He also tried to murder his ex partner
Received a caution for that 🤬🤬🤬
Hope they can bring this up in court

If they come at me for my vile language in a handful of messages I will be able to describe that I was trying to stick up for myself after being abused for years

His actions are millions of times worse and more destructive

Dangerous criminal

Praying we at least get no contact orders for life

My fingers are crossed for you. Dig deep and tell them what happened. Don’t forget the prosecution’s barrister will give you a chance to tell things without trying to paint you badly. It’s a really hard thing to do but you’re being very brave, you really are.

Yes so true

I can do this

Just will be so so anxious and scared xxx

It was for a different reason OP, but I had to go to court as a witness last year and it was so much less stressful than I'd worried about. I had two amazing court volunteers who looked after me, showed me around the court before we went into the waiting area, and answered lots of questions. We had a separate area to sit in and toilets, and didn't come into any contact with the other person at all. Once it went into court, the barrister kept popping back in to keep me updated, and thankfully the person changed their plea to guilty so I never had to take the stand. I was ushered out through a side door, and it was honestly fine.

The volunteers were so so kind, one lady was very elderly but said she got so much from doing it that she couldn't bear to stop. They also had copious boxes of tissues for when I got quite upset at one point. I felt really well cared for and sent a letter in afterwards to say thank you.

I hope it goes well for you

Oh my gosh
Poor you

So so hard
Glad to hear you had good people there to help

Praying I get support there too

Ditto to this - I was called as a witness and it was all very well set up with no mixing or chance of mixing. The people there where fantastic at keeping me calm and at ease.

Good luck.

Great to hear this

What an awful ordeal it can be

Made easier by nice people xxxx

And for all the help here it has been great

Any other ideas would be very much appreciated

Also - his arsehole claims I'm faking ptsd and being traumatised

It was discussed with my gp and psychotherapist

Great posts by Feelveryawkward and others.

My ex’s barrister tried so hard to get a rise out of me I “I put it to you Mrs x that if fact what happened was that you hit your husband, that you did x, that you are lying, that’s what actually happened, isn’t it, you are lying, you fabricated the story didn’t you” and on and on.

You have to just keep saying no that’s not what happened and repeating what did happen. (And resist the urge to roll your eyes at their suggestions!!)

Oh wow !!!

Ok that is good advice

Poor you I'm sorry !!

Are they hoping we will crumble when they say these things?

Do I say
That's not true

Or
Well the events you say are incorrect
This is what happened. ?

@GremlinDolphin4 thanks for your input

Found it so hard to get more advice about the process

Will need to contact victim support again
They have been so so busy recently

Just say it how you would naturally say it. Don’t over think! You are prepared now.

One thing I would say is remember that they are questioning you, it’s their job to make their case, not your job to make yours ie don’t give them more than necessary in that for example I was being quizzed on how I managed to have time to get my glasses and phone if I was so traumatised in the situation and I added that they would have been in my dressing gown pocket - his barrister was so desperate at this point that she started on about the dressing gown as proof that I wasn’t actually in bed at all etc but I soon got it back on track!

I attended crown court as a witness to a really serious crime a couple of years ago. I was the only witness and the perps were really really scary people and had been remanded in prison for a year. I was sat for five days in a witness room with lovely and kind volunteers and the police would keep popping in to see that I was OK. Once my time came to give evidence, I was collected by a barrister and taken to the court through a side door. I was then sat with screens which meant I could see the judge and jury only. When the offenders barristers cross examined me they sort of walked into my sight. ( that bit only lasted a few minutes and wasn't too bad) At no time did I see the offenders nor they see me. My full details of name and address weren't even read out. It was quite an experience and not one I'd like to repeat but so glad I did it. Unfortunately the jury found the defendants not guilty which did make me question the whole thing tbh. The defendants 100% committed the crime against another person as I saw it with my own eyes.

Oh my goodness

How brave of you to stand up and do it

I can see when many chose to not attend
Back out

Awful process

I'm doing this for my child and for other women who have been abused
I'm not allowing this man to get away
If he is found not guilty I will appeal
I have a lot of good evidence including body cam footage from police
But he says I'm an abuser

I’m another who was called to be a witnesses with a particularly nasty individual. I asked for a screen and court tour. It made it much less daunting.

My case was dropped as he had bigger charges to answer. But the staff were lovely.