I recently wrote a notorized letter to a friend of mines. His lawyer said I should write a letter to them and get it notorized, because it would not only help them in winning the case, but so that i wouldn't have to go to court either. The problem now is that although my letter was pretty much the only evidence for the court, I still have to appear in court, because the notorized letter was not good enough alone. I wasn't completely honest about the letter I wrote, because my friends lawyer had asked that I said specifically said what he suggested, because the police had stated something completely different on there incident report. I was never going to write the letter, but just tell the judge what I had knew from the day of the incident. I just went with the letter, because i didn't want for the court to say I was lying, because of what the police had wrongly stated in their report. When I go to court, should I just I go along with the letter still, or just disregard the letter and tell them what I really said to the police that night, because their statement just makes what I say sound like a lie
Optional Information: Country relating to Question: United States State (if USA): Virginia Already Tried: Nothing yet. I wanted to try to speak with the judge about my letter beforehand, just in case he/she already read it, but I was told you can't speak to a judge before a case. I'm not trying to testify before the court date, I just wanted to pretty much my disregard that letter, because I know I won't be abe to say what I said in that letter in person,in from of the court.The p prosecutors are going to ask me questions ,that I might not know how to anawer and I don't want to get myself caught up
Thank you for the post, I am happy to assist you by answering your questions. When you go to court and testify you should tell the truth, whether consistent or inconsistent with the letter, and to the extent inconsistent with the letter, explain that you now recall more accurately what happened as you can place it in context. Taking the stand and knowingly telling a lie under oath is perjury and can result in your incarceration. Please let me know if you have any follow up questions.
So if I tell the truth in court , will I still be held accountable for the letter, if it was already read by the judge or is there a possibility that what I say in court is all they'll care about hearing ? Apparently, I am the only witness of the case, so I would hope that my word in court would be the most important and would determine the outcome of the case.
You would be held accountable for the letter but you would reconcile the inconsistency of the letter and your Testimony with the notion that your recollection is better now and your testimony should be relied upon to supersede the letter to the extent the two differ, and the letter supplement your testimony to the extent the two are consistent.
Hello Tiara, I read your feedback, did you read my most recent response?
Please let me know if you have any follow up questions or need additional guidance.
Ok, well I understand what you're saying with the advice of me stating"my recollection is better now ", but I had used a fake name in my letter, that my friends lawyer had said I should use. He told my friend that if i used a take name , the police wouldn't be able to further investigate the case, because I only provided a first name. A name that I had no type of association with. So will I still be able to say that, or should I say that the name wasnt real.
Do you mean that you signed the letter with a fake name, or you gave someone a fake name and referred to the person by that name in the letter?
Oh no, I signed the letter at the bottom with my name, but in the letter I used a name that wasn't real, because I was asked to do so by the lawyer, because of the statement that the police had put in their report. Apparently, the statement that the police had put down for what they said had happened the night of an incident involving my car, isn't what I told them that night. The police's statement is something completely different than what happened. I guess my friends lawyer decided kind of go with their story, but not completely go with it. I wrote what the lawyer said to do, because I didn't want to go to the courthouse and say my story, which is the truth, but have the people in the court room saying that my story isn't matching up with the police's story, so therefore I must be lying .
Thank you Tiara, in this situation you should simply state the truth if asked whom the person is named in the letter (the truth being that you were advised to assign a name to a person but you do not have the person's true/legal name). If asked why you assigned the name, then reply that you were advised to offer the name per your best recollection at the time by your friend's attorney. Also, you should discuss how these and other questions will be answered if posed with your friend's attorney well before you take the stand.
Ok, thank you so much for your time, advice and patience.I Will definitely take it all into consideration.
Thank you Tiara, please remember to offer a positive rating if I have answered your questions. I would hate for the negative rating to remain if it does not accurately reflect your final rating.
Experience: Negotiate, Draft, and Review many complex commercial agreements each year.