When a case is going to trial, witness testimony can be an important piece of evidence. Witnesses are known as upon to recount the facts offered by means of the legal professionals involved in the trial. However, there are times in which a witness may be considered hostile. In such cases, the witness provides testimony that contradicts the claims made with the aid of the criminal party that called them to the stand. This can make organizing the reality more complicated and drastically impact on the results of the case. This article will speak about what a hostile witness is and the way it influences a case that has long gone to trial.
What is a Hostile Witness?
A hostile witness is generally defined as a witness who testifies against the party who has called them for testification. Hostile witnesses are known as adverse witnesses or unfavorable witnesses.
A judge generally determines a witness to be hostile when their testimony seems contrary to the legal position of the party that has called them. Moreover, another way hostile witnesses are classified is when they refuse to fully testify to the facts of the party who has called them.
Moreover, a witness turning into a hostile witness is a form of perjury. A hostile witness is a witness to a criminal activity and is used by the prosecution for building a case. But they later turned against the prosecution party.
Why Do Witnesses Turn Hostile?
There is a reason why certain witnesses tend to turn hostile. The high acquittal rate within the criminal justice system is primarily why witnesses turn hostile. Another reason why witnesses turn hostile is a combination of money and muscle power. This means that the opposite party uses monetary inducement and intimidation in various situations. This is to stop the witness from testifying to the truth.
However, there are other reasons why a witness becomes hostile. Some of them are mentioned below:
- Absence of police protection during and after the trial. Moreover, the witnesses might get scared of facing the consequences of turning against the convicts of the trial. This makes them vulnerable and turns them hostile.
- Another reason is excessive delay in the disposal of cases. Similarly, this reduces the secureness of the witness’s tribulation.
- Intimidation is also a significant reason a witness turns hostile when called in a case trial.
Furthermore, witnesses face an excessive number of threats from criminals. Similarly, psychological examinations on witnesses suggest exhausting cross-examination, frequent adjournments, and intimation. This is within the courtroom, which is the significant reason why witnesses turn hostile.
Ways Hostile Witness Can Be Handled
A witness can turn hostile for various reasons, but there are multiple ways to handle such cases. As a prosecution, you must be prepared when a witness you have called to testify turns hostile during the trial. Moreover, it would be best if you handled a hostile witness effectively. If not, it might lead to severe damage to your case.
Let us observe how you can easily handle a hostile witness while your case goes to trial.
Asking Leading Questions
If you are handling a hostile witness, you can’t go with the strategy of being friendly with such an individual. Being close or nice to them will backfire in your case. Moreover, the attorney must ask leading questions when handling a hostile witness.
Similarly, leading questions provoke “yes” or “no” answers. Such questions are not allowed to be asked to friendly witnesses, but with a hostile witness, it is necessary. Moreover, with leading questions, you can effectively get the answers that are useful for your case.
Limit The Scope of Testimony
Another way to handle a hostile witness is by limiting the scope of testimony. Similarly, effectively choosing your line of questioning and using leading questions will restrict the scope of what the hostile witness testifies.
Moreover, a hostile witness might nibble at the bits to ridicule your client voluntarily. However, the witness cannot do the same if your question phrasing goes a certain way.
However, if you use leading questions, the hostile witness will have limited capacity to go off the tangents that can harm your case.
Impeachment
The final strategy to handle hostile witnesses is impeaching them. Generally, you can’t impeach an ordinary witness, but you have the complete liberty to impeach a hostile witness. The best way you can impeach a hostile witness is by asking them questions that they will answer that you will want. This will make the hostile witnesses impeach themselves.
Thus, having hostile witnesses is not a pleasant experience for anyone. However, you should have a well-planned strategy that will enable you to handle a hostile witness effectively.
Ways Witnesses Can Be Stopped from Becoming Hostile Witnesses
As someone interested in the USA criminal justice system, you’ll be curious about a way to save your witnesses from turning hostile at some stage in a tribulation. Unfortunately, this could most effectively be completed through a complete overhaul of the cutting-edge device.
The US criminal justice system is riddled with troubles that create an environment in which witnesses may additionally sense unsafe or compelled to behave positively. By adjusting inside the judicial system, we can considerably improve how witnesses behave during an ordeal and promote a fairer result for all events worried. Here are a few methods wherein the criminal justice system in the US can assist make sure the safety of witnesses and prevent hostility.
Holding In-Camera Proceedings
Closed-door proceedings are a way to protect witnesses from becoming hostile during a case. This also ensures the safety of witnesses while they testify. Witnesses can provide testimony without fear of retaliation or intimidation by conducting proceedings behind closed doors.
Ensuring Anonymity
To ensure the safety of witnesses, their names must remain anonymous. This is because external influences may threaten their safety and provoke them to become hostile. Therefore, maintaining anonymity is crucial to protect the witnesses and ensure a fair legal process.
Secrecy of Witness Identity
Implementing measures to hide the witness’s identity is another way to stop them from being hostile.
Providence of Protection
The criminal justice system should play a lively role in developing and imposing powerful mechanisms that ensure the safety of witnesses. This includes measures that shield the identities of witnesses, offer stable places for testimony, and offer vital aid and help to the ones who’ve been victimized or threatened.
Without good enough witness protection, the justice system cannot be characteristic successfully and fairly, and the protection of folks that come forward to file crimes and offer testimony may be at danger. Therefore, the criminal justice system needs to take significantly its obligation to set up dependable and comprehensive witness safety programs.
Treating Witnesses as Honored Guest
One capability reform that could be applied inside the US criminal justice system is a more emphasis on treating witnesses known as to testify. This ought to contain measures to make sure that witnesses are handled with recognition and dignity and that their well-being and safety are prioritized at some stage in the felony manner. By enhancing the treatment of witnesses, the criminal justice system may want to help to make sure that justice is served pretty and as it should be.
Compensation for Expenses
Courts must advocate for compensation for expenses that witnesses incur to cover their travel and accommodation expenses.
Dignity & Comfort
Courts must ensure that the witnesses feel comfortable and treated with dignity. This will make them friendlier towards the party that has called on them.
These are some ways the US criminal justice system can stop witnesses from becoming hostile.
What Is the Crime That Hostile Witnesses Commit?
In a criminal case, the dedication of the jury and judges is closely motivated with the aid of the testimony furnished by way of witnesses, as well as any official documents which might be signed. As a jury member, you can have heard the familiar query posed to witnesses in court, & do you swear or verify that the statements you will make are the fact, the entire fact, and not anything but the reality? This suggests that statements made underneath the oath and legal files are expected to be sincere and correct.
However, it could be hard to determine whether a witness or different parties concerned in a case are truly telling the reality. The outcomes of a witness knowingly supplying deceptive or fake statistics can be severe, such as the opportunity of being charged with perjury. This is why the court locates one of these excessive charges of honesty and integrity inside the testimony and documents.
What is Perjury?
Perjury is a severe criminal offense that entails knowingly making fake statements under oath or signing a legal file with the knowledge that it includes wrong facts. The fake declaration should be associated with a fabricated fact and feature the potential to affect the results of a case.
This crime is classified as a criminal act, making it a sizeable risk to the justice system. The gravity of perjury stems from the reality that it undermines the very foundation of the legal system, which is based on consideration and reliability.
An individual’s sworn assertion can trade the trajectory of someone’s life, and if it includes fake facts, it can lead to unjust consequences. Perjury is frequently defined as a criminal offense in opposition to justice, as lying under oath undermines the integrity of official complaints.
Moreover, perjury demands situations where the authority of courts, grand juries, and governing bodies run within the court system, making it an extreme danger to the functioning of the justice system. The results of committing perjury are agonizing and may bring imprisonment, fines, and a criminal record which can stick with a person’s reputation for the rest of their life.
Penalties for Committing Perjury
Perjury is considered a felony within the US criminal code. However, cases of perjury charges can go to federal and state courts.
Under the federal law (18 USC § 1621), the elements of perjury consist of the following:
- Taken an oath in a competent court, officer, or person;
- Willfully and contrary to the oath;
- States to any material matter that is believable not to be true.
It is important to note that perjury is providing false testimony under oath. It is a serious offense with severe consequences. If an individual is found guilty of perjury, they can face fines and imprisonment.
Moreover, it is worth mentioning that if a witness is proven to have lied under oath. They could be sentenced to imprisonment for a maximum of five years. These penalties are in place to maintain the integrity of the legal system and ensure that justice is served. Therefore, individuals must be truthful when taking an oath in court or any legal proceeding.
Final Thoughts
After reading the article above, you should have gained a more comprehensive understanding of how a hostile witness can significantly impact the criminal justice system. The article delves into the concept of a hostile witness and how their behavior can affect a trial. Testimony from witnesses is often the backbone of a trial. Still, in some instances, a witness may become hostile and provide testimony. That contradicts the claims made by the legal team that called them to the stand. This not only makes it more challenging to establish the truth. But it can also significantly impact the outcome of the case, making it crucial to understand the implications of a hostile witness in a trial.
Read also:
