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can witnesses who are minors refuse to testify in criminal investigations?

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M

madmom

Guest
how can witnesses, when asked by a police officer investigating a reported crime, refuse to testify about what they know? we have no case because this happened and now the criminal goes completely free and he never even went to trail.
 


L

lg2

Guest
Witnesses can refuse to testify or claim no knowledge when they do know things. It might be due to fear, an unwillingness to get involved, a desire to protect the defendant, or an unwillingness to help the law
 
T

Tracey

Guest
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by lg2:
Witnesses can refuse to testify or claim no knowledge when they do know things. It might be due to fear, an unwillingness to get involved, a desire to protect the defendant, or an unwillingness to help the law<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


???????? Witnesses who refuse to testify in Washington go to jail for contempt of court. The witnesses can tell police and prosecutors they don't WANT to testify and maybe the prosecutors won't go forward, but if a person is summoned, they must testify. The only exception to this is when testifying would violate some statutorily recognized priviledge.


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This is not legal advice and you are not my client. Double check everything with your own attorney and your state's laws.
 

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