I had an accident in which I was not at fault. The other person is also not accepting fault. I have a court date tomorrow.

There are too many variables and too much unstated information to make a final and firm response. If you have the witnesses testify under oath and a transcript of the testimony is taken by your opponent, they can compromise your side if you do not have skilled counsel for you as an advocate. Traffic court? Civil suit? You need an attorney. Good luck. I am in Chicago. NOTE: This answer is made available by the lawyer for educational purposes only. By using or participating in this site you understand that there is no attorney client privilege between you and the attorney responding. This site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state with whom you have established an attorney client relationship. The law changes frequently and varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The information and materials provided are general in nature, and may not apply to a specific factual or legal circumstance described in the question.

If you had insurance on your car, the insurance company should be defending your case. If the witnesses gave statements that favor you, the other side should take that into consideration when determining whether to actually go to trial. You also usually have the right to your own lawyer if the amount of insurance coverage wouldn't cover the amount of injury being claimed by the other side. I suggest you speak to the insurance company and ask if they are representing you. If not, hire your own attorney and find out why not. Good luck.

Unfortunately, you do not state what your court date tomorrow is about. Without much more information, it is impossible for any attorney to give you any type of advice.

I would go to court and tell the prosecuting attorney that you have property damage and that if the defendant plans on pleading guilty you would like to get your property damage paid for as part of the plea agreement. If the defendant does not plead guilty then you will likely have to testify. If you are not physically hurt, are not going to claim any physical injuries, and want to get your property damage paid for I would suggest you go to court. Prosecutors and judges are watchful to make sure victims are reimbursed. Steve Phillips

From the tone of your question, it sounds like you must have been cited by the investigating officer for some sort of traffic violation. It is not clear. If that is the case, you should appear with an attorney at your side along with witnesses for your lawyer to examine as he or she feels best to your interest. If you were not cited for any traffic charge, it would be more difficult to see how it would be to your advantage to give testimony in traffic court that might be used by the other party against you at some point down the road. Having given statements already, if you have no traffic charge to defend, I fail to see how it would be to your benefit to have witnesses come to testify against the other driver. Even if the other driver were to be found guilty and fined, that would not put money in your pocket. Nor would it force his claim adjuster to pay you later. Nor would a guilty finding in traffic court be binding on a judge or a Jury in civil court later. Only if the other party were to plead guilty would it make any difference, and even then, it could be explained away. Mr. Brandmeier is right - there are too many variables here. You need to give more information to be able to answer the question in full. But the basic detail we have, and I fail to see the advantage of going to court unless you have been charged with a traffic citation yourself. If youi do decide to go, make sure you have able counsel with you. I too am in the Chicago area. Donald Nathan www.donaldnathanlaw.com