Subpoena... received for myself and 3 employees.

[masterxfob]

this past sunday, i had an incident where a black male was causing a disturbance at my business. the guy was walking around and yelling at people, swinging some chain at an employee, and trying to grab another one by the arm. now, the guy didn't actually touch/hurt any of my employees, but they did call the police. the police came out and arrested the guy, and then got the names of the 3 employees that were working at the time. afterwards my employees called to let me know what had occurred and i also received a phone call from the police.

wednesday i received the subpoena's for appearance of witness for myself and employees to a preliminary hearing. well, that's just great. monday happens to be a busy day for me and two of my employees happen to work as well.

now the problem is, i need to make a schedule for next week, but i can't rightly do so without knowing how many days this crap is going to take. i've tried calling the deputy district attorney in charge of the case but she never picks up. i've left 4 messages (wednesday afternoon and early evening, and thursday morning and afternoon), and have yet to receive a return phone call.

if i just leave the 3 employees off the schedule for the entire week, i'm going to be looking at paying their wages, plus 100+ hours of overtime. not exactly something i want to do as it will be quite costly. is there anything i can legally do about this? can i sue the city? file a complaint?

 

[spidey07]

I'd shut your trap and get a lawyer.

Seriously.

-edit-
oh, over looked witness subpeona. Still, I'd have a lawyer present before I said anything to anybody. You can never be too careful, especially these days. There are people who make a living out of suing people.

 

[DaWhim]

contact a lawyer

 

[OS]

i have no advice, just that's a rough situation, let us know what you do in the end.

 

[LongCoolMother]

yeah, lawyer is a good idea. unless anyone on atot is a lawyer, we are pretty much useless for giving advice about these situations. it isnt our field of study and we dont have the experience to address it.

 

[George P Burdell]

Better to spend lots on a lawyer than lots more on some stupid stuff later.

 

[kranky]

If it's only a preliminary hearing, it probably won't even take half a day.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: kranky
If it's only a preliminary hearing, it probably won't even take half a day.

Umm? Am I the only one who sees this as a setup for some kind of discrimiation suit?

That's how the "professional, make their living by suing people" operate.

OP - get a lawyer and don't say a gosh darn thing. Shut it.

 

[chrisms]

From what you're saying about how much overtime is going to cost, I don't think a lawyer would cost any more.

 

[RKS]

I'm not licensed in CA but even those that are would not dispense legal advice online.

 

[kranky]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: kranky
If it's only a preliminary hearing, it probably won't even take half a day.

Umm? Am I the only one who sees this as a setup for some kind of discrimiation suit?

That's how the "professional, make their living by suing people" operate.

OP - get a lawyer and don't say a gosh darn thing. Shut it.

What do you think a preliminary hearing is? They are only going to determine if there is enough evidence to justify going forward with the criminal proceedings. They are calling the OP and the other employees as witnesses. The judge will likely ask the arresting officer what the story was, ask the OP and the other people if the guy standing there was the one they saw, then issue a ruling. Then a trial date is set for some time in the future.

That's it. What makes you think the OP needs to be fearful?

 

[SoulAssassin]

The legal system takes forever...schedule them off that day but on the rest of the week.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: SoulAssassin
The legal system takes forever...schedule them off that day but on the rest of the week.

I would do this. Get a lawyer and have him explain to the court you can't put your business in the hole over some other asshole's actions.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: kranky
What do you think a preliminary hearing is? They are only going to determine if there is enough evidence to justify going forward with the criminal proceedings. They are calling the OP and the other employees as witnesses. The judge will likely ask the arresting officer what the story was, ask the OP and the other people if the guy standing there was the one they saw, then issue a ruling. Then a trial date is set for some time in the future.

That's it. What makes you think the OP needs to be fearful?

OP's words are on record. If he's smart he'll talk to an attorney. What he thinks are harmless accounts of events are just more fuel for the lawsuit that is sure to come.

To be used against him in a civil suit of some kind. He needs to seek legal help ASAP and never say anything about this incident to anybody. Let alone the internet.

-edit-
Just to pound this in to others reading the thread.....DON'T SAY CRAP TO ANYBODY WITHOUT ATTORNEY PRESENT.

 

[doze]

What exactly is the hearing for? Are the cops tyring to charge the guy with something? If so then it may not be worth the possible hassle to your business for the next few days/weeks/months by involving yourself in this.

 

[smack Down]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: kranky
What do you think a preliminary hearing is? They are only going to determine if there is enough evidence to justify going forward with the criminal proceedings. They are calling the OP and the other employees as witnesses. The judge will likely ask the arresting officer what the story was, ask the OP and the other people if the guy standing there was the one they saw, then issue a ruling. Then a trial date is set for some time in the future.

That's it. What makes you think the OP needs to be fearful?

OP's words are on record. If he's smart he'll talk to an attorney. What he thinks are harmless accounts of events are just more fuel for the lawsuit that is sure to come.

To be used against him in a civil suit of some kind. He needs to seek legal help ASAP and never say anything about this incident to anybody. Let alone the internet.

-edit-
Just to pound this in to others reading the thread.....DON'T SAY CRAP TO ANYBODY WITHOUT ATTORNEY PRESENT.

He has to it is callede a subpoena for a reason. An attorney isn't going to be able to do anything.

 

[smack Down]

Originally posted by: doze
What exactly is the hearing for? Are the cops tyring to charge the guy with something? If so then it may not be worth the possible hassle to your business for the next few days/weeks/months by involving yourself in this.

He doesn't have an option if he doesn't show up he will spend some time in jail.

 

[kranky]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: kranky
What do you think a preliminary hearing is? They are only going to determine if there is enough evidence to justify going forward with the criminal proceedings. They are calling the OP and the other employees as witnesses. The judge will likely ask the arresting officer what the story was, ask the OP and the other people if the guy standing there was the one they saw, then issue a ruling. Then a trial date is set for some time in the future.

That's it. What makes you think the OP needs to be fearful?

OP's words are on record. If he's smart he'll talk to an attorney. What he thinks are harmless accounts of events are just more fuel for the lawsuit that is sure to come.

To be used against him in a civil suit of some kind. He needs to seek legal help ASAP and never say anything about this incident to anybody. Let alone the internet.

-edit-
Just to pound this in to others reading the thread.....DON'T SAY CRAP TO ANYBODY WITHOUT ATTORNEY PRESENT.

What do you suggest - the OP sit on his attorney's lap when he's called as a witness? He's a witness! They ask questions, the witnesses answer them. You don't get to choose which questions you feel like answering.

Assistant DA: "Mr. Employee, did you see the defendent at the place of business?"
Employee: "Um, I don't think I want to answer that."
Judge: "The witness will answer the question."
Employee: "I want to talk to my attorney first."
Judge: "Answer the question or else."

 

[oynaz]

Doesn't your insurance cover loss by civic duty, like employees being called upon to testify? I know that most Danish insurances do.

 

[alm4rr]

Originally posted by: spidey07
I'd shut your trap and get a lawyer.

Seriously.

-edit-
oh, over looked witness subpeona. Still, I'd have a lawyer present before I said anything to anybody. You can never be too careful, especially these days. There are people who make a living out of suing people.

hah this is funny

 

[oynaz]

Originally posted by: alm4rr

Originally posted by: spidey07
I'd shut your trap and get a lawyer.

Seriously.

-edit-
oh, over looked witness subpeona. Still, I'd have a lawyer present before I said anything to anybody. You can never be too careful, especially these days. There are people who make a living out of suing people.

hah this is funny

...only in America

 

[patentman]

1. Get a lawyer

2. No, you cannot sue the city for subpoenaing you.

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: masterxfob
this past sunday, i had an incident where a black male was causing a disturbance at my business. the guy was walking around and yelling at people, swinging some chain at an employee, and trying to grab another one by the arm. now, the guy didn't actually touch/hurt any of my employees, but they did call the police. the police came out and arrested the guy, and then got the names of the 3 employees that were working at the time. afterwards my employees called to let me know what had occurred and i also received a phone call from the police.

wednesday i received the subpoena's for appearance of witness for myself and employees to a preliminary hearing. well, that's just great. monday happens to be a busy day for me and two of my employees happen to work as well.

now the problem is, i need to make a schedule for next week, but i can't rightly do so without knowing how many days this crap is going to take. i've tried calling the deputy district attorney in charge of the case but she never picks up. i've left 4 messages (wednesday afternoon and early evening, and thursday morning and afternoon), and have yet to receive a return phone call.

if i just leave the 3 employees off the schedule for the entire week, i'm going to be looking at paying their wages, plus 100+ hours of overtime. not exactly something i want to do as it will be quite costly. is there anything i can legally do about this? can i sue the city? file a complaint?

no-one gets paid to go to court to testify...
if they are not at work working... they dont get paid.

/overtime problem.

 

[patentman]

Originally posted by: sao123
no-one gets paid to go to court to testify...
if they are not at work working... they dont get paid.
/overtime problem.

Obviously you have never heard of expert witnesses. Granted, that is not the situation here, but certain people definitely get paid to testify.

 

[SonnyDaze]

You and your employees need some lessons in self defense, so the next time some sh*t like this happens, you can grab the mvtherfvcker and throw him out of your business yourself, instead of having to call the police.