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Going to Court

If you have told the police about something that you saw or heard happen or something happened to you may have to go to court to tell your side of the story. This does not mean that you are in trouble, you are there just to help the court understand the whole story of what happened.

If the defendant says they did not break the law then they plead not guilty. This is when there needs to be a trial. If the defendant pleads guilty you will not have to give evidence and sometimes this happens at the last minute after everyone has turned up to court.

You may not have to go to court if you really don’t want to. However, if you decide you don’t want to go you will need to tell the police and there is a chance they will get a witness summons, which means you have to go. Also, if you decide not to go this may mean that the court does not get to hear the whole story of what happened and the defendant may get let off even if they did break the law or the defendant may get in trouble even through you know they didn’t do anything wrong.

Please see below for Frequently Asked Questions about Going to Court...

 Who is in the courtroom?
 Giving evidence
 How can Victim Support Wandsworth help?

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