Taking the court to court?

[shell]

Last year I phoned the police for a lad that was mugged. I never saw him get mugged, I just saw the after effects and phoned the police and ambulance. So they caught the mugger. This is where the fun and games begin, I have been called to court to give witness 11 times. 4 Times I have actually made it in to the building only to be told it's been cancelled, those 4 times I have been compensated for my loss of wages. The other 7 times I have been phoned late the night before and told not to attend as it has been put off. These times I've not been compensated. Now this is okay for people that work a normal 9 to 5, but as a long distance lorry driver this then means I have no work. If I tell my employer I can't work, they then get someone else to do the job. So I am losing work through this. What's worse is that because of the nature of my job I'm not just losing a days wages, I am usually losing a few days wages as my jobs are usually for a minimum of 2 days. I am not a full time employee so have to take work when it comes available. So what can I do? I know that this will all come up again in a few weeks as the case hasn't been resolved yet. Surely the judge isn't doing his/her job by letting this carry on like this.

[bluebottle]

Re: Taking the court to court?

I don't think you'll find it's the judge who is at fault, Shell. Usually, it is the CPS who are responsible for this sort of thing. They are in charge of the case and it is their responsibility to ensure all witnesses are warned, along with the police.

My advice is to, first, speak to the police officer in charge of the case. If they cannot shed any light on the matter, you will need to contact the Chief Crown Prosecutor.

Is this case being heard at the Magistrates Court on a Not Guilty plea or has it been committed up to the Crown Court? This will determine whether need to speak to the Area or Regional Chief Crown Prosecutor.