Can you explain how this fictional case would proceed to me, someone who have never attended a real court case before?

Asked by Mimishu1995 (23628

) May 22nd, 2021

Yeah… I have never attended a real court case before :( My experience with criminal trials comes from solely from movies and video games and some brief footage from news. And movies and video games often only show a very small highlight of dramatic scene, and that doesn’t help me visualize one bit :(

So now I want you to help me visualize how this fictional case would go from start to end. I just need to have a rough idea of how things work.

Copied and edited from a question I posted somewhere else.

Let’s say I have two characters, John and Jack. John is relatively unpopular among the town people because he is a Patriot and the majority of the people in town are Tories and because he displays signs of PTSD, which is interpreted by some people of the town as insanity. Jack is a eight-year-old local of the town. Jack is tricked by his friends into believing he is cursed by John and only has a few days to live before John would come to him and brutally kill him. Thus, he decides to commit suicide before John can touch him, by drowning himself in a lake, drawing inspiration from a suicide he witnessed earlier. Just as Jack jumps into the lake, John gets to the lake and successfully saves him. There is no one around to witness John saving Jack, except for one woman who reports seeing John chasing after Jack.

Because of the lack of evidence and John’s reputation in the town, some people who hold grudge against John are able to put pressure to have John arrested and put on trial. The reasoning behind this is that John intentionally chased after Jack to drown him. After John is arrested, Jack realizes he is lied to by his friends and wants to tell the truth of what really happened to save John. From the answer to my original question, I am able to confirm that Jack is able to be a witness if the judge and jury see fit. So let’s just say Jack is chosen to be a witness.

Yeah… I know this is a ridiculous scenario, but I’m doing a little research right now, so any help is really appreciated :)

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3 Answers

The most important evidence in a case like this is the testimony of those who were actually present. Jack would certainly be called as a witness, and assuming he told the truth his evidence would acquit John. In fact the case would never even come to court if Jack is honest as no crime would have been committed.

If Jack lied and said that John tried to kill him the situation would become more interesting. The background to the case; ie John’s political views and his PTSD would not be as significant as what actually happened at the lake and what the witnesses claim actually happened. Jack’s testimony would be subject to cross examination by John’s defence lawyers. They would want to know how he came to be at the lake and if his explanation sounds reasonable. They would ask for medical reports that might corroborate or refute his testimony. If there is no physical evidence of an assault his case would be greatly weakened. The woman witness would also be cross examined, did she see John chasing Jack or did she just see John running towards the lake. Why didn’t she investigate further? What story does her evidence support?

Having listened to all the evidence the jury would discuss the case among themselves and come to a decision.

flutherother (34530

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@flutherother Thank you for answering. I have another follow-up question: so suppose Jack lies to everyone that John tries to kill him, and that gets everyone so upset they get John arrested, but then during the trial Jack regrets his action and tell the truth to the judge, will he suffer and consequences for lying before the court?

Mimishu1995 (23628

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@Mimishu1995 Lying under oath in court is a serious offence and can get you sent to prison. It is called perjury.

flutherother (34530

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