served a subpoena
 

was watching tv with the parents tonight when I got a phone call from an "unknown" number. I picked it up and its an officer from north van police dept asking for me to verify my address since the one they currently have doesn't match.

says that they're going to need a Burnaby rcmp officer to come serve me a subpoena in person. I asked a lot of questions but he couldn't answer any of them except to just laugh and say "don't worry, your not in any trouble".

couldn't figure out what the hell or how the hell he had a different address so I had to google it. turns out its the address from across the street from my gf's sisters/fiancée old apt. all I could think of is one weekend (maybe 6 months ago) when we were house sitting for them, I ended up calling the cops cause there were 6-8 shitfaced kids sitting in the building parking lot (theres a small corner store/pizza place at the base of the building) and they were loud as fuck and smashing bottles into the ground at 1-2am.(directly under her bedroom window...so it was quite loud/annoying)

googled what a subpoena is and more or less read that if its an officer handing it to me, I MUST appear in court.


im assuming its for me to be a witness or something since I never talked to the kids but I was the one on the phone giving the description to the cops as to what they were wearing/how many of them/aprox ages etc etc.

so? advice? ive got epilepsy and waiting on brain surgery right now and im not exactly supposed to be out on my own, so I cant just drop everything to the floor to show up in court on a random day.

advice?

If the court date is at a time where you can not be there then you cant be there. Medical trumps court.

Get the papers and find out what it is.

It means you MUST appear as indicated. To not show leaves you open to possible arrest. Don't screw around with this. I suggest you tell them of your medical concerns now before it gets to court. There will be contact info and the officer who is running the file will contact you before the trial date to go over what is expected of you. The court date you are required is on the subpoena, it's not some random date. Courts take a very dim view of being ignored.

thanks, ive no problem going so long as someone can take me (ive got multiple hospital apts this month for mri's eeg's and stress tests), but im just curious as to what I'd have to do there? how long would it be? stuff like that

I got subpoena'd before, but usually it doesn't go to trial.

I bet they settle without going to trial and you aren't needed. BUT, when you get the subpoena, just call the phone # and tell'em your situation. It'll work out.

i got a subpeona for an assault that happened years ago, went to meet up with the prosecutor and honestly i couldnt remember a lot and they didnt need me cus of my bad memory lol a subpeona is essentially you meeting up with a lawyer and discussing whatever they need you for, ie. im guessing as witness to something.

if you dont remmeber anything i doubt they will use you lol

There'll be a court notifyer # on the subpoena when you get it - best bet is to call them and get your advice. Crown will receive confirmation that all witnesses/victims/officers are confirmed for court to go ahead, then defence will likely enter a plea. Your chances of actually having to go through with testifying in the end are pretty slim. If you do, it may be an interesting experience and something to talk about at the next dinner party ;)

These are questions best answered by the officer who subpoenaed you. Trials can drag or they can be over very quickly. You will meet briefly outyside the courtroom with the officer & will discuss what will happen and you will go over your statement briefly. You will have to wait outside the courtroom until you are called to testify, then you are sworn in and give your testimony. Then the defence lawyer gets to try to discredit your testimony in cross examination.

if u called the cops,, dont u think u should follow thru ?

turns out this isn't what I was thinking of.

today I got a call from a few co workers saying they're all being served with one as well today after work.

turns out in the summer we were leaving the no.5 around 1am, 4 of us walking down the street. hear some lady shout "you raped my sister". we looked around, didn't see nothing, we keep walking, get to the cross walk and 3/4 of the way up the street these 3 natives were just beating the shit out of a guy in the middle of the street..last thing we saw was the guy wind up and take a soccer style kick right to the guys face while hes already on the ground in a pool of blood from his face. we go check on the guy, they run, we follow, co worker calls cops, I flagged a cop down since we were basically right beside the vpd building. they arrested them. the 3 were beyond drunk..how they could stand is beyond me..

so absolutely i'll be following through with this.

Good on you Stewie, people like that deserve to get whats coming to them!!

good on you, but still let the officer know of your medical condition and still asks your questions. this is just to cover your own in case something down the road happens and you can't show up.

you would be surprised at how many people call 911, say they witnessed something but refuse to provide any personal details. this way the cops cannot followup with the caller and obtain information from the witness. if the parties are gone by the time the police arrive, there is pretty much no investigation. it is frustrating dealing with uncooperative witnesses/complainants/victims.

I had a First Nation's community leader start screaming at me in the middle of the main street of a small Island community, where I had gone to work for a day. He demanded that I arrest the drug dealer that had been selling drugs to his daughter & others for years and he was royally hissed that the Cops let this happen without taking any action. He did this in front of a ferry lineup of about 50 people, at noon hour. When I asked him for the dealer's name & a statement so I could do just that, he said he would not rat him out and it was my job to find out who the dealer was. Needless to say, the dealer was not arrested. His attitude was typical of some complainants....just some of them.

Stewie, the meaning behind your avatar would lead me to believe you would attend court.