Witnesses are important in the legal system and can provide different types of testimony. Material witnesses are essential to the outcome of proceedings and can be compelled to testify. They may also be detained and request a deposition. Expertise and category of testimony are factors in witness characterization.
Witnesses play an important role in the legal system. Witnesses are individuals who testify under oath through the submission of a document to the court, through a deposition, or through court testimony, and may include plaintiffs and defendants. There are different categories of witnesses and the material witness is one of these types. A material witness is one whose testimony is deemed essential to the outcome of the proceedings; that is, his testimony is of “material” importance.
Witnesses are characterized in several ways: by their expertise, by the part of the trial in which they testify and by the category of testimony they provide, for example. A material witness may also fall into one of these categories, although some are more likely than others. The two categories of skills are “lay” and “experts”. A lay witness is an ordinary person, while an expert witness is someone with specialized knowledge in a particular field. After a conviction is entered, there is a special group of witnesses, called the sentencing witnesses or punishment witnesses, who appear at the sentencing hearing held to determine the punishment to be given.
Within the trial, witnesses may provide various types of testimony. There are so-called factual witnesses, who talk about what happened in a particular case. There may also be character witnesses who have specific knowledge about a person’s morality, honesty and reputation, which may be relevant to making a judgment. The witnesses of the protests are a special group of witnesses: adults who have heard a child’s “cry” about suffering abuse. An outraged witness is required by law to report such abuse.
Since the testimony of a material witness is deemed important for justice, there are special rules for obtaining his testimony. First, the court timetable must be reasonably adjusted to allow for witness testimony, even if it means prolonging the trial by granting a continuation. Secondly, a material witness can be compelled to testify, even if he does not wish to.
Additionally, if prosecutors have reason to believe that a material witness in a criminal case may escape, they can obtain a warrant for that person’s arrest and detain him, under a 1984 federal law. The warrant must be approved by a judge and the witness is entitled to a hearing to determine the bond and, if necessary, to a public defender.
A detained witness may request a deposition, that is, sworn testimony taken outside of a court of law and reduced to writing for later use in a court of law. Attorneys represent the parties to the case at the deposition, and a court stenographer records a transcript of the proceedings. Under Title 18 of the United States Code, the court “may” acquit the material witness after the deposition transcript is signed under oath.
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