My plaintiff is pressing charges against me and I find it odd that she is not at every court appearance. My (ex)attorney has refused to address this concern.
Michael Lewis MarleyCriminal Defense AttorneyNew York, NY ·
You mean the complainant or what DA's refer to as "the victim."
In any criminal case in our state, it is People of State of New York vs. defendant(s) Jones, Smith or whatever.
Presence of the complainant is likely only required for trial if it goes that far.
Law Office Of Michael Marley
Phone 917 853 4484
L. Maxwell TaylorLitigation LawyerMiddlebury, VT ·
Prosecutors prosecute criminal offenses. Victims are witnesses. Generally speaking their presence is only required when the prosecutor presents the victim's testimony to the court. There are many proceedings (status conferences, arraignments, various hearings on motions where law, rather than evidence, is at issue) in which no witness testimony is presented. It is hard to think of any reason why a witness would have to be present where testimony of that witness is not going to be given,
The alleged victim does not have to be at every court appearance. In fact, you may only see the alleged victim during his or her testimony at trial. I hope you did not discharge your (ex)attorney over this issue. If so, you discharged your attorney without just cause.
The person pressing charges against you is known as the complaining witness. Generally, you will not see that person unless there is a pre-trial hearing or, he or she needs to testify against you at trial or, in the case of a felony charge, at the Grand Jury. The fact that you have not seen this person at previous court appearances is actually quite common.
The person who is pressing charges (the complaining witness) does not have to be at every court appearance. Generally, the complaining witness will meet with the DA early on to give his or her side of the store, but his or her presence is only required at trial.
