What happens if FA refuses to attend trial?

[Stressed out mother]

Sons case is due to start monday 5 dec, however FA now says unable to attend. Judge has allowed her to now attend the following day. FA says she is in a vunerable position as pregnant! Obviously alleged rape has not stopped her sex life!
Her mother who was supposed to he witness for prosecution has also refused to attend.
Due to all this we still have to attend court on the monday but our day for defence is now changed. Trial might last until friday due to how busy court is.
Our solicitor seems to think that FA wont attend on the tuesday, we shall wait and see. But if that is the case what can we expect to happen? The thought of this being reset for another date fills me with dread.mnever mind my son who is certainly stressed to the max, i find myself unable to function anything like normal.nthe thought that this nightmare could continue even longer before we get a result is just pure cruelty.

[Pond31]

I think I read somewhere that is the FA does not turn up the the police can go and interview them about the matter rather than the case ending. This is to see if why the FA did not attend the court, for instance where they nervous/unwell, etc. Sometimes the FA will withdraw things at this stage stating they are too unwell to continue when in reality they are worried about being done for perjury when caught out in court. If they still don't want to attend the court then the CPS can attempt to carry on with the case out of "public interest" however in "he said she said" cases they will most likely present "no evidence" and that would be the end of the case. They may also decide to present no evidence when the FA first doesn't attend.

I am not a legal expert so do further research.

[Peter1975]

I would say that Pond has pretty much summed up my limited understanding. It's all a bit complicated.

If a complainant is adamant they will not attend court and it has been established that they made the decision of their own free will it's unlikely the case will go ahead without her unless the defence does not object to her statement being admitted as evidence and very unlikely the court will issue a witness summons.

The CPS guidance is as follows:


What happens when the victim withdraws support for the prosecution or no longer wishes to give evidence?

Sometimes a victim may withdraw support for a prosecution and may no longer wish to give evidence. This does not mean that the case will automatically be stopped. If the victim has decided to withdraw support for the prosecution, we have to find out why. This may involve delaying the court hearing to investigate the facts and decide the best course of action.

We will take the following steps:

if the victim decides to withdraw support, we will ask the police to take a written statement from the victim to explain the reasons for that withdrawal, to confirm whether the original complaint was true and to find out whether the victim has been put under any pressure to withdraw support; and
we will ask the police to give their views about the evidence in the case and how they think the victim might react if they are compelled to attend court.

If the victim's statement, after withdrawing the complaint,is not the same as the earlier statement, we expect the police to ask the victim to explain why it has changed.

If the victim confirms that the original complaint is true, we will consider first whether it is possible to continue with a prosecution without his or her evidence (the evidential stage) and then, if it is possible, whether we should continue the case without the support of the victim and against the
victim's wishes (the public interest stage).

The prosecutor will want to know the reason why the victim no longer wishes to give evidence. This may be because the victim is experiencing feelings of embarrassment or fears that they may not be believed. It may be because they live in a place in which they feel isolated or particularly vulnerable (and we recognise that feeling isolated or vulnerable may have deterred or delayed the victim from reporting the incident in the first place), where supporting the prosecution may place the victim at further risk of harm. In such cases, the prosecutor must have regard to any special measures or other support available to the victim that may help them to overcome their concerns.

If we suspect that the victim has been pressurised, or frightened into withdrawing the complaint, we will ask the police to investigate further. The investigation may reveal new offences, such as, for example, harassment or witness intimidation, or that bail conditions have been breached. If necessary, we will ask the court to delay any hearing so that a thorough investigation may take place before we decide about the future of the case. If the reason for a victim or witness's withdrawal is based on fear or intimidation, the prosecutor will consider that evidence and decide whether further charges, for example, of witness intimidation, should be brought.

We will explore all these options fully before we decide whether to proceed with a prosecution. The safety of the victim or any other potentially vulnerable person will be a prime consideration in reaching our decision.


What happens when a decision is taken to continue with a prosecution against a victim's wishes?


Generally, the more serious the offence (for example, because of the level of violence used or the real and continuing threat to the victim or others), the more likely we are to prosecute in the public interest, even if the victim says they do not wish us to do so.

In cases where we have sufficient other evidence, we may decide to proceed without relying on the evidence of the victim at all.

If we decide that the case should continue and that it is necessary to rely on the victim's evidence to prove the case, we have to decide:

whether we should apply to the court to allow us to use the victim's statement as evidence without the victim having to give evidence in court;

whether we can proceed with the prosecution by helping the victim to attend the court by the use of special measures; or

whether we should compel the victim to give evidence in person in court.


Background information is crucial in helping a prosecutor to make the correct decision about how to proceed in a case where the victim has withdrawn their support for the prosecution.

The law allows us to use the victim's statement in court without calling the victim to give oral evidence but only in very limited circumstances. It is for the court to decide and it will only allow this if it is in the interests of justice to do so. If the victim is the only witness to the offence, it may be difficult to satisfy the court that justice is being served when the defence cannot cross-examine the principal witness in the case.

The specialist rape prosecutor will only call a victim to give evidence against their wishes if the prosecutor is satisfied, after consultation with the police and any other interested person, that such a course of action is necessary.

We always prefer victims and witnesses to give evidence willingly and will take whatever steps we can to help them overcome their fears and give their best evidence.