Court Assistance Information

The Court System

Witnesses have rights and responsibilities in the court system.

The District Attorney's Office will assist witnesses with appearance notification, explanation of court procedures, and intervention with employers.

A subpoena is a witness's or victims official notification to appear in court. It is a court order directing a witness to be present in court at a specific time and place. Failure to appear is against the law.

A witness in a misdemeanor case is usually required to appear only at the trial.

Witnesses in felony cases may be required to make several appearances.

After the District Attorney decides to file a case, the defendant's first appearance in court is at an arraignment. At this time, a judge tells the defendant the charges against him, advises him of his rights, and appoints an attorney if he does not have one. If the defendant pleads guilty, he may be sentenced. If he pleads not guilty, the case proceeds. Witnesses need not be present at arraignments.

In almost all felony cases, and in many misdemeanor cases, defense and prosecuting attorneys make pretrial legal motions concerning police conduct, evidence, and identification of defendants. Occasionally, witnesses may be called to testify at a motion.

The preliminary hearing is usually the first appearance for a witness in a felony case. At the hearing, the testimony of witnesses is needed to help a judge decide if there is sufficient evidence to place the defendant on trial.

If a defendant is “held to answer,” the case will be transferred to Superior Court. The defendant will be arraigned again in Superior Court, and if he pleads not guilty, a trial date will be set. The witnesses will be required to testify again at the trial.

If witnesses cooperate with the instructions for the on-call system on the subpoena, they will not be required to make continual appearances and will only have to appear when it is necessary to testify.

Witnesses who are also victims may present their views on the crime and the defendant to the judge for consideration at the time of sentencing. This is done through either the probation officer or the prosecutor and is called the “Victim Input Statement.”