Q: My 14 yr daughter & I have been subpoenaed to testify in court for my bf's violating protective order. Do we have to go?
He has anger issues & I had been suicidal etc & ive had to call the cops. In a nutshell he needs anger management & has been getting it now. My 14 year old daughter was home one time & saw him bump me with his shoulder one time, where is did it on purpose, shocked me but I wasn't hurt etc. She was upstairs & saw a portion of it. She's 14, the cops spoke to her, even though I didn't give permission. Anyway, we have been through a lot this year, and I am in a wheel chair trying to recover from a car accident where I almost didn't make it out alive. I don't want her going through anymore emotional torture. We have moved on with our lives. Do we have to go, or better yet do we have rights to tell the judge we do not wish to speak about it? Please advise.
A: You have been subpoenaed, you must appear. If you do not, you can be arrested. You might want to talk to the State's Attorney about having to testify. However, if you do not testify, it is likely the charges will be dropped. Which means your boyfriend will have learned there are no consequences to his actions so he is free to do them again. Of course, he is taking anger management now when he is facing criminal charges.
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