Can a defendant call up an eyewitness to the stand to testify anytime during the trial?
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Can a defendant call up an eyewitness to the stand to testify anytime during the trial?
Or does the eyewitness have to be registered with the court prior to trial in order to be able to testify during the trial (eyewitness is spouse).
Asked on September 19, 2011 under Criminal Law, Georgia
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
How it generally goes during a trial is that the prosecutor for the District Attorney's office puts on their case and calls their witnesses and puts forth their evidence first. Then they "rest" their case and the defense begins to call their witnesses and poke holes in the evidence that the prosecution puts forth. As for providing a list of witnesses, generally speaking the parties exchange witness lists but there are certain leeway's given and exceptions ("surprise" witnesses). A spouse is known as an interested witness, meaning that they have an interest in the outcome of the trial - their spouse being released and found not guilty. So their testimony is sometimes weighed differently by a jury. Please get help here and ask for an attorney to be appointed. Good luck.
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