Being a witness in court
If you have been asked to be a witness in court, the Witnesses in Scotland website will help you. This website tells you about going to court and what to expect there. It also explains the various special measures that may be available to help vulnerable witnesses, including children, and how these can be accessed. Many witnesses will not require to use special measures but may benefit from other forms of support. You can ask the person who has called you to be a witness for advice on what can be done to help.
Most people feel better about being a witness if they know what to expect and have visited the court beforehand. If you are called as a witness, the Witness Service can give you help and support. They are part of Victim Support Scotland and provide a service in all Sheriff and High Courts. Their helpline is 0845 60 39 213 or 0845 30 30 900. The Witness Service can answer questions of a general nature about what happens at court and can also arrange a court familiarisation visit. If you have been contacted by the Victim Information and Advice (VIA) service (within the Procurator Fiscal’s office), they can also arrange a court visit with the Witness Service for you.
If you would find it helpful to look at an image of a courtroom on a CD Rom or DVD, which also includes information on special measures for vulnerable witnesses and describes how they are used, ask the person citing you as a witness to let you see these.
If you are particularly concerned about entering the court building or being in the same waiting area as someone else in the case, it may be possible in some courts for a court official, the Witness Service, Victim Information and Advice or someone from the Children's reporter office, to arrange to meet you at a particular entrance and for you to sit in a different witness room.
Otherwise, when you arrive at court, a court officer will note your attendance, direct you to the witness room and guide you into the courtroom when you are called to give evidence. Witnesses for the defence and for the prosecution (the Crown) will wait in separate rooms. You may need to wait quite a long time before it is your turn to give evidence. However, the Witness Service, Scottish Court Service or VIA will try and keep you regularly updated on what is going on.
Before you give your evidence, you will be asked to either repeat a religious oath or to agree that you promise to tell the truth. If you are a witness for the prosecution, the Procurator Fiscal (PF)Often just called the Fiscal. The Procurator Fiscal is the public prosecutor in Scotland. The PF is in charge of deciding whether someone should be prosecuted and what court the case should be heard in. The prosecution has the 'burden of proof' which means that they need to present enough evidence to prove 'beyond reasonable doubt' that an accused person is guilty. The PF prosecutes the crime on behalf of the Crown, and makes decisions in the public interest (see below). (see Crown Office) or Advocate deputeAn advocate or senior Procurator Fiscal who works only for the prosecution and prosecutes only in the High Court – see Procurator Fiscal. will ask you about the case, and what you remember. The defence solicitor will then ask you some questions. (If you are a defence witness, the defence solicitor will ask you questions first).
You should always say exactly what you remember. If you can’t remember, you should say that. When the lawyers have finished asking their questions, the judge or sheriff will let you know when you can leave.
More information about attending court, and what happens when you are there, is available on the Scottish Court Service and the Crown Office websites.
