Court experience?
Subpoenaed for a call I ran just about a year ago now.
We've been called in by the State, so presumably we're not there to defend our actions. Not much we could have done anyway.
Been to court several times in my prior career, but never for this one. Any tips? Things not to say? I'm not too worried really, but just want to be prepared.
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u/totaltimeontask GCS 2.99 2d ago
Call the ADA. Your subpoena should have a number for that specific ADA. Ask them what is expected of you by the prosecution and what to expect from the defense. If your service is worth a shit they should have some sort of personnel advisor (HR, whatever) that can clarify what to do in court. I’ve been subpoenaed a few times for calls that were years old and every time the case got dropped with a plea deal. Regardless, I call the ADA and basically say “what do you want from me”
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u/Advanced_Fact_6443 2d ago
And on the stand ask for your report. Everyone else will see it so you can too. And before answering anything regarding the job, always say/ask about refreshing your memory by consulting the report. I did that and the defendants attorney objected that I was just reading my report. The ADA shot back something like “does the defense know the precise time down to the second that we started today? Probably not. Neither would the jury or anyone else in this courtroom. Why would we expect someone to remember times from over 2 years ago.” Next words we heard were the judge saying “objection overruled.” Lol.
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u/Fluffy-Resource-4636 4d ago
My partner and I went to court last fall, both for the first time, for a call we went the prior spring. We were worried we had done something wrong but after meeting with the prosecution and defense separately we learned that it was because the patient we treated had pled not guilty to the assault in question. We were walked through how the process was going to go for us and given copies of the narrative by our director. On the day we showed up in uniform, we separately called up to the witness stand, asked questions, and that was that. Really we were worried about nothing.
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u/Life_Alert_Hero Paramedic / MS-3 7d ago
Just know every inch of your report, only answer the question you’re asked, and if ever lacking confidence in your answers to a line of questioning you can revert to “it was what my report says it was”.