The Importance of Victims Attending Court
Why is it important to show up for court if you are the victim of an alleged crime? Hi, my name is Carl Birkhead. I’m a Tulsa criminal defense attorney with Wirth Law Office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I’ve been practicing family and criminal law for almost eight years now, and I want to help you make law easy by talking a little bit about why it is important for you to show up if someone has committed a crime against you.
So, this isn’t always the case. It really depends on the type of crime. But usually, if you are the alleged victim of a crime, you’re going to have to participate in the legal proceedings. Not always, and the extent to which you have to participate varies. But nine times out of ten, you’re going to have to show up to certain hearings, especially if it’s a felony case and you’re the only witness.
Your Role in Legal Proceedings
So, let’s say it’s an assault and battery case, and you are the person who was assaulted and or battered. There are no other witnesses to the crime. It was just you and the person who supposedly went after you. I see this happen all the time. The case will be moving along. It’ll be set for a preliminary hearing. At a preliminary hearing, you’re going to have to appear and give testimony about what happened to you. And if you don’t, the case is probably going to get dismissed.
It’s typically called a motion to dismiss for lack of complaining witness, meaning if you’re the complaining witness and you’re not there, and the state has nobody to put on their case, and if they have no case, the case is going to go away. Now, as a criminal defense attorney, this is great for me. Nine times out of ten, no, really, ten times out of ten, it’s fantastic for me. It’s fantastic for my client. I always love getting dismissals for my clients.
Why Your Presence Matters
But this is more just a public service announcement if you’re on the other side of that. I’m going to get the cases dismissed if you don’t show up for the preliminary, if you’re the only witness there. Now, there are some exceptions. Let’s say that there’s surveillance footage, or there are medical records, or there’s another person who saw the assault. I’m not saying that it’s just the be-all, end-all. If you don’t show up, it’s going to go away. But it’s more likely going to go away because, without you there in person, the one who was actually hurt, the state doesn’t really have much else to do.
Schedule a Strategy Session Today
If this is a situation where you’re worried about whether or not you need to go to court, or maybe you’re facing some sort of assault and battery charge, and you’re needing help with it, give me a call. My name’s Carl Birkhead. I’m a Tulsa misdemeanor attorney with Wirth Law Office, and I want to help you make law easy. Call me today at 918-879-1681 to schedule a low-cost initial strategy session.
