Ignoring a Subpoena

[OBeacian]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

Ten years ago, at the age of 16, I was abducted & sexually assaulted. At the time, there were no suspects.

Last month I was notified that through DNA, they matched a so-called possible suspect, and asked me to come in and speak to the detective. Several years ago, I moved to the East Coast, but happened to be in California a few weeks after the notification, so I went in while I was visiting.

The detective told me that if I wanted to press charges (I DO), I would have to come to California when subpoenaed, and if I ignore it, a warrant for MY ARREST would be issued.

I want to comply, but it took me a long time to save up for my trip out there, and can't afford to come out again anytime soon.

I am the victim here, and am so angry that because I want the perpetrators prosecuted, I could be jailed myself. I have contacted Victim Assistance with help for transportation, but they can't help.

Any suggestions? Anyone else experience this?

Thanks

 

[Proserpina]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

Ten years ago, at the age of 16, I was abducted & sexually assaulted. At the time, there were no suspects.

Last month I was notified that through DNA, they matched a so-called possible suspect, and asked me to come in and speak to the detective. Several years ago, I moved to the East Coast, but happened to be in California a few weeks after the notification, so I went in while I was visiting.

The detective told me that if I wanted to press charges (I DO), I would have to come to California when subpoenaed, and if I ignore it, a warrant for MY ARREST would be issued.

I want to comply, but it took me a long time to save up for my trip out there, and can't afford to come out again anytime soon.

I am the victim here, and am so angry that because I want the perpetrators prosecuted, I could be jailed myself. I have contacted Victim Assistance with help for transportation, but they can't help.

Any suggestions? Anyone else experience this?

Thanks

Admittedly I have no idea whether this is possible for a criminal complaint in CA, but it might be worth asking the question - can you appear telephonically?

Needless to say, what you need to do before anything else is have at least an initial consultation with an attorney.

 

[justalayman]

contact the prosecutor. If it is possible to work with them to attempt to arrange court dates and such so that you can attend it may be possible to continue through with this. If it is just that hard to attend and you cannot realistically attend in the near future, you should discuss that with the prosecutor as well. It would not make a lot of sense for him to attempt to prosecute this case if you must be there and simply are not going to be there. They would rather stop the prosecution now if they cannot reasonably prove their case. They might be able to pick it back up sometime in the future, but then again, maybe not.

the last thing you want is for them to move forward, issue a subpoena, and then tell them you aren't going to be there. That would mean they wasted a lot of time and money and depending where they are in the process and what actions the defendant may take, they may not be able to prosecute at a later time.

communication is the key.


and here is something I would never have considered a few years ago:

crowd funding.


I know it sounds odd but I have seen so many odd crowd funding pleas for some really odd things, maybe you could get people sympathetic with your plight to fund your travel expenses. I would caution you from disclosing too much info or saying anything that might be considered defamatory to a particular identifiable person as that could cause you some legal issues in itself.

 

[TigerD]

Admittedly I have no idea whether this is possible for a criminal complaint in CA, but it might be worth asking the question - can you appear telephonically?

Needless to say, what you need to do before anything else is have at least an initial consultation with an attorney.

That would pose a confrontation clause issue. There are valid reasons for shielding a witness from an open appearance, but not having the money to fly isn't one of them.

OP: I think the officer was simply a lazy SOB and trying to talk you out of making him do some work. Look at it like this: If the prosecutor isn't going to fly you out to put away a dangerous person for kidnapping and sexual assault, they also aren't like to fly you back to California for failure to appear on a subpoena.

You might want to talk to one of the supervisors at the police station or the prosecutor. Prosecutors have the budget to fly in witnesses - whether s/he thinks your case is worth the expense is another story.

DC

 

[Proserpina]

That would pose a confrontation clause issue. There are valid reasons for shielding a witness from an open appearance, but not having the money to fly isn't one of them.

OP: I think the officer was simply a lazy SOB and trying to talk you out of making him do some work. Look at it like this: If the prosecutor isn't going to fly you out to put away a dangerous person for kidnapping and sexual assault, they also aren't like to fly you back to California for failure to appear on a subpoena.

You might want to talk to one of the supervisors at the police station or the prosecutor. Prosecutors have the budget to fly in witnesses - whether s/he thinks your case is worth the expense is another story.

DC

Thanks, DC. Makes sense.

 

[FlyingRon]

Many locations also have a victim's advocate that can help you navigate the system. You might check in the jurisdiction involved.