Witness Treatment

Witness Treatment

A witness is called to court to testify against an individual charged with aggravated assault. The accused hit another man over the head with a cue stick in a barroom brawl, causing moderate injuries. The witness comes to court on his day off, waits all morning and part of the afternoon to testify, then at 4:00 p.m. is informed that he can leave because the prosecutionand defense have agreed that the defendant would plead guilty to a lesser included offense. Answer the following questions:

a. What h as o ccurred h ere?

b. Did the attorneys have a legal obligation to inform the witness of what was going on? What about an ethical duty?

c. Should the witness be angry? Why or why not?

Solution: