Can a defendant call up an eyewitness to the stand to testify anytime during the trial?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Can a defendant call up an eyewitness to the stand to testify anytime during the trial?
Or does the eyewitness have to be registered with the court prior to trial in order to be able to testify during the trial (eyewitness is spouse).
Asked on September 19, 2011 under Criminal Law, Georgia
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
How it generally goes during a trial is that the prosecutor for the District Attorney's office puts on their case and calls their witnesses and puts forth their evidence first. Then they "rest" their case and the defense begins to call their witnesses and poke holes in the evidence that the prosecution puts forth. As for providing a list of witnesses, generally speaking the parties exchange witness lists but there are certain leeway's given and exceptions ("surprise" witnesses). A spouse is known as an interested witness, meaning that they have an interest in the outcome of the trial - their spouse being released and found not guilty. So their testimony is sometimes weighed differently by a jury. Please get help here and ask for an attorney to be appointed. Good luck.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.