Question About Being a Witness

MrT8078!

New Member
Jurisdiction
Arizona
Hello,

Thank you in advance for any help you are able to provide. I have searched Arizona and federal laws to find the answer to the following question, but I'm unable to find a clear answer, so here it is:

If a defendant submits something in writing to the court about a witness that is false (provably so) in an effort to limit or prevent that person from testifying, what exactly is that? Witness tampering? And what can be done about it in order to protect the integrity of the lawsuit and allow the witness to testify? I'm currently in the midst of this as a witness.

Thank you.
 
Hello,
If a defendant submits something in writing to the court about a witness that is false (provably so) in an effort to limit or prevent that person from testifying, what exactly is that? Witness tampering? And what can be done about it in order to protect the integrity of the lawsuit and allow the witness to testify? I'm currently in the midst of this as a witness.

You didn't indicate what kind of legal proceeding this is (civil lawsuit, criminal prosecution, etc), what exactly the defendant submitted to the court, or what significance your testimony might have, all of which matters. However, it certainly isn't witness tampering. Witness tampering would occur if the other party comes to you to try to convince (or threaten) not to testify or to testify to something other than the truth.

Since this was a filing with the court, the plaintiff/prosecutor will be served with the filing and have the opportunity to oppose it should he/she wish to do so. As a witness you have no role in that fight.
 
If a defendant submits something in writing to the court about a witness that is false (provably so) in an effort to limit or prevent that person from testifying, what exactly is that?

You'd have to tell us what this hypothetical "something in writing" is.

Witness tampering?

I cannot think of any hypothetical circumstances in which a defendant submitting a writing to the court for the purpose of excluding or limiting a witness's testimony would constitute tampering.

And what can be done about it in order to protect the integrity of the lawsuit and allow the witness to testify?

Again, it depends on what the hypothetical "something" is.

Are we talking about a motion? Some random letter? Something else? Is this a criminal proceeding? Civil lawsuit? Something else?
 
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