 | 
11-05-2009, 11:07 PM
| | Junior Member | | Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 5
| | | Do I tell the Truth?
PA, I was involved in an accident about a year in a half ago. I was the passenger but was said to be the driver. Went to court for some traffic violations, and it was brought up that I was not really the driver. Escaped without any trouble. The said passenger who was really the driver is now sueing me for pain and suffering in a civil case. Do I tell the truth, or do I continue on with the lie to save myself. I am facing criminal charges in another case for false information and charges to that degree, so this could intern hurt me worse than what I am already facing. The driver of the other vehichle is also being sued. He knows the truth and may decide to tell, but he also testified under oath that I was the driver, so this could hurt him as well...What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? |
11-05-2009, 11:12 PM
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Weigh a pie...
Posts: 6,784
| | Quote:
Originally Posted by amandab71  PA, I was involved in an accident about a year in a half ago. I was the passenger but was said to be the driver. Went to court for some traffic violations, and it was brought up that I was not really the driver. Escaped without any trouble. The said passenger who was really the driver is now sueing me for pain and suffering in a civil case. Do I tell the truth, or do I continue on with the lie to save myself. I am facing criminal charges in another case for false information and charges to that degree, so this could intern hurt me worse than what I am already facing. The driver of the other vehichle is also being sued. He knows the truth and may decide to tell, but he also testified under oath that I was the driver, so this could hurt him as well...What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? | I don't think anyone here is going to advise you to lie in court.
__________________ *****************************
When you can't bear something but it goes on anyway, the person who survives isn't you anymore; you've changed and become someone else, a new person, the one who did bear it after all.
— Austin Grossman
Quote: | Salagadoola mechicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-boo | |
11-05-2009, 11:14 PM
| | Junior Member | | Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 5
| | | I suppose I am searching more for what my consequences include, or how I can go about handling this. I do not want to lie, I just need a good way to handle the situation that has been created. |
11-05-2009, 11:24 PM
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 17,858
| | | Tell the truth. Why did you lie in the first place? Was it to help out the ACTUAL driver who is now suing you for the accident that she caused? This is what lying gets you.
You have an attorney for your criminal case right? Ask his advice.
__________________
Lawsuits are not about justice. They are about MONEY. If you don't want money, then you shouldn't be thinking about suing. And people post here because they are thinking about suing. Because they want money, no matter how much they don't want to admit that to themselves.
-Auto insurance adjuster for 2 years - as of 6/15/09, I am FREE!
|
11-05-2009, 11:29 PM
| | Junior Member | | Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 5
| | | I understand where lieing gets me. At the point when I was questioned of who was driving I was pulled out of a vehicle that was totalled into a pond. I was in shock, when I lied everyone around went with my story so I would not get into trouble. I was also protecting the driver, not wise on my part. I am now a victim of my own stupitidy and am not the person that I was then. |
11-05-2009, 11:49 PM
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Weigh a pie...
Posts: 6,784
| | Quote:
Originally Posted by amandab71 I understand where lieing gets me. At the point when I was questioned of who was driving I was pulled out of a vehicle that was totalled into a pond. I was in shock, when I lied everyone around went with my story so I would not get into trouble. I was also protecting the driver, not wise on my part. I am now a victim of my own stupitidy and am not the person that I was then. | And now, unfortunately for you, you're going to have to accept the consequences.
You need to tell the truth. But please, consult with your attorney - s/he is the only one who knows your case.
__________________ *****************************
When you can't bear something but it goes on anyway, the person who survives isn't you anymore; you've changed and become someone else, a new person, the one who did bear it after all.
— Austin Grossman
Quote: | Salagadoola mechicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-boo | |
11-05-2009, 11:59 PM
| | Junior Member | | Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 5
| | | I am fully ready to accept the consequences that I face. It is funny how things come back around. The real driver apparently doesn't realize what type of trouble he is internly getting himself into by sueing me. I suppose it will all come out in the wash, and after this is over I can have this weight of relief lifted off of my shoulders by doing the right thing. And the real driver will be unsuccessfull in his attempts to sue me for something that didn't actually happen to him. |
11-06-2009, 12:17 AM
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Weigh a pie...
Posts: 6,784
| | Quote:
Originally Posted by amandab71 I am fully ready to accept the consequences that I face. It is funny how things come back around. The real driver apparently doesn't realize what type of trouble he is internly getting himself into by sueing me. I suppose it will all come out in the wash, and after this is over I can have this weight of relief lifted off of my shoulders by doing the right thing. And the real driver will be unsuccessfull in his attempts to sue me for something that didn't actually happen to him. | You made me smile there - yes, it will indeed all come out in the wash.
__________________ *****************************
When you can't bear something but it goes on anyway, the person who survives isn't you anymore; you've changed and become someone else, a new person, the one who did bear it after all.
— Austin Grossman
Quote: | Salagadoola mechicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-boo | |
11-06-2009, 08:24 AM
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 17,858
| | | You are right, you will DEFINITELY feel better when the whole mess is out in the open.
__________________
Lawsuits are not about justice. They are about MONEY. If you don't want money, then you shouldn't be thinking about suing. And people post here because they are thinking about suing. Because they want money, no matter how much they don't want to admit that to themselves.
-Auto insurance adjuster for 2 years - as of 6/15/09, I am FREE!
|
11-06-2009, 11:24 AM
| | Member | | Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 91
| | | lying in court
Unfortunately, people lie in Court all the time. The Courts respond to this - some of the time - by making a determination, or Finding, that the person (or witness) "is not credible." The rest of the time, the liars get tossed in jail, as Bernie Kerik is now finding out the hard way.
Within the civil-court context, a witness or party found to be not credible can pretty much expect to have all their testimony disregarded, either by the Judge, if the case is Court-side, or by the Jury, if the Judge makes that determination and so instructs. The jury may also independently find testimony,or the witness in total, not credible. But that is not where you are.
Within the context of the criminal proceeding, lots of witnesses are found not credible. Jailhouse snitches are fertile grounds for this Finding. Yet being found "not credible' is a lot different than admitting to lying.
Nobody is going to advise you to lie in Court. Indeed, nobody is going to advise you to lie anywhere, period. If your wife asks you if you were cheating on her, and you were, then you can either admit to it, or decline to answer. But lying is only going to make things much worse, because all hanky-panky inevitably gets found out, as you are now discovering to your dismay. Personally, I take the view that you should never be afraid of the truth, but that posture is perhaps no longer realistic.
I have seen attorneys shamelessly lie in Court. Even when found out, I have yet to see an attorney disciplined for lying shamelessly and egregiously to the Judge. Attorneys do it all the time. When non-attorneys do it, they typically get hammered.
What you have done reminds me of the press secretary down in Washington some years back whose boss was caught flat-footed in certain indiscretions. The press secretary stated that the rumors of the indiscretions were untrue, and that his boss was a pure as the driven snow. In the aftermath, the press secretary was asked about his previous strident declarations. The press secretary declared that his previous statements of purity "were now inoperative."
Then again, the press secretary was also trained as an attorney.
About the only thing you can do is retain a top-notch attorney, and when your civil case winds its way through Court, simply take the truthful position that you were a passenger and not the driver, and hope that nobody at this point is much interested in re-opening the old criminal case or starting up a new one against you. When you get questioned on this - and you will -then take the advice of whatever your attorney issues you. You will then begin to face the consequences of lying in the criminal proceedings; one of those consequences may well be that your new version of events "is not credible" - in which event your civil case gets into trouble. So one of the foreseeable consequences of lying in Court is that you end up on the brunt end of the criminal proceedings, with whatever driving record ensued from that, and now with a Judgment against you in the civil proceedings.
One thing the previous posters all emphasized, which is imperative, is that now you finally retain counsel. |
11-06-2009, 12:28 PM
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 17,858
| | | This is obviously a bigger issue then simply being found an uncredible witness, since OP is facing criminal charges.
__________________
Lawsuits are not about justice. They are about MONEY. If you don't want money, then you shouldn't be thinking about suing. And people post here because they are thinking about suing. Because they want money, no matter how much they don't want to admit that to themselves.
-Auto insurance adjuster for 2 years - as of 6/15/09, I am FREE!
|
11-06-2009, 01:02 PM
| | Member | | Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 91
| | Quote:
Originally Posted by ecmst12 This is obviously a bigger issue then simply being found an uncredible witness, since OP is facing criminal charges. | Apparently those criminal charges are in an unrelated matter. At this point the untruthfulness in the driving matter are not before any court. What is before the court as respects the driving aftermath is the civil case. The worst he is going to face, presumably, within that forum is ending up as not credible.
That said, the spill-over might well end up in the unrelated criminal matter. But that is not an absolute certainty. Either way, it is long past time for this OP to retain competent counsel. He has woven a web of deceit. |
11-06-2009, 09:37 PM
| | Junior Member | | Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 5
| | | Apparently my car insurance is going to hire me an attorney. The attorney they hire is to represent me, although this attorney is going to obviously going to be representing my car insurance as well. I'm thinking I need to hire a personal attorney to handle the matter. If I am unable to afford one, and this is not yet a criminal case am I entitled to any type of public defender? |
11-06-2009, 09:41 PM
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 17,858
| | | No public defenders for civil cases. But the insurance attorney will represent your interests as well as the insurance company's. You should not need to hire private counsel unless after you meet with the lawyer, you don't feel confident in him for some reason.
__________________
Lawsuits are not about justice. They are about MONEY. If you don't want money, then you shouldn't be thinking about suing. And people post here because they are thinking about suing. Because they want money, no matter how much they don't want to admit that to themselves.
-Auto insurance adjuster for 2 years - as of 6/15/09, I am FREE!
| |
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | | | | Thread Tools | | | | Display Modes | Rate This Thread |  Linear Mode | | 
Posting Rules
| You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off | | | |
