Assuming the case is one that will be heard in the Crown Court, the following is a brief guide as to how the case will progress from the perspective of you as a witness.

There may be a number of administrative hearings, which you as a witness will not be involved in. If you are required to give evidence you will be notified of a date and time for you to attend Court.

When you attend the Crown Court you should make yourself known to the Witness Service on arrival.

A volunteer will look after you whilst you are at Court and take you to a private room close to the Court room where you will give evidence. The volunteer will provide you with a copy of your statement for you to read 
      and a claim form for your expenses. If you have any queries then the
      volunteer will be able to answer them.

When it is your turn to give evidence, an usher will come and get you. It will be necessary for you to swear an oath that you will tell the truth. A copy of your religious book will be given to you in the witness box and you will read
      the oath from the card given to you. If you are not religious then you can
      affirm which means that you promise to tell the truth.

The Prosecuting Barrister will ask you questions first, once he has finished the Barrister representing the Defendant will have the opportunity to
ask you questions. When he has finished the Prosecuting Barrister will be 
      able to ask you a small number of questions to clarify any points that have
      arisen. You will then be released to go home or back to work where you
      should complete your expenses claim form and send it back in the pre paid
      envelope provided

Once all of the prosecution witnesses have given evidence, the Defendant may choose to give evidence followed by any witnesses that he would wish to call on his behalf.

When all of the evidence has been heard, first the Prosecuting Barrister gives a speech to the jury and then the Defence Barrister addresses the jury.

The Judge will then tell the jury what the law says about the offence and remind them about the evidence. In all cases the Judge must tell the jury that they can only convict if they are satisfied so that they are sure that
       he/she is guilty of the offence.

If the jury convicts the Defendant, the Judge will either sentence immediately or adjourn the case so that he can consider reports prepared by the Probation Service.

There could be a number of reasons why the jury might decide to acquit the Defendant and it does not necessarily mean that they did not believe what you said.


Once the case is concluded a member of staff at the Witness Care Unit will inform you of the outcome and thank you for your assistance in the case.