Q: I got charged with 11378. My public defender said the driver might be a potential witness,so what does that mean?
The driver asked to speak with my p.d. who said she cant discuss my case with her,that a investigator needs to talk to her,i dont understand...
A:
NEED MORE INFO
HOWEVER, THAT IS THE WAY I WOULD DO IT TOO.
OTHERWISE, THEY COULD ARGUE YOUR LAWYER WAS TAMPERING WITH A WITNESS
A:
If your lawyer talks to the witness, then your lawyer becomes a potential witness.
Here is how: Witness tells your lawyer that the meth was actually theirs and that you didn't even know it was there. Then later while in trial, the witness gets cold feet and says that they don't know anything about any meth. Now your lawyer is a witness to tell the jury that they are changing their story. This is called impeachment. The reason an investigator is used is so that there is a different person that the lawyer can call to the stand in this situation and ask what the witness said before.
Additionally, your attorney does not want to be accused to telling the witness what to say. If there is someone else interviewing the witness, then that won't happen.
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