Overview

An individual may be ‘summoned’ to court to provided verbal or written testimony. A court summons will be served on the individual who is then ordered to attend court on the specified time and date, as stated on the summons. The summons itself can be served either in person, by hand, or by post (recorded delivery).

 

What to wear to court

There aren’t any rules about what you should wear when you go to court, but most people will be dressed smartly. Whatever you wear, you should make sure you’re comfortable because it can be a long day.

 

The summons itself is a document issued by the court to get a witness to attend court to give or produce documents to the court on a fixed date. The general rule is that a witness summons is binding if it is served at least 7 days before the date on which the witness is required to attend. The court may direct that a witness summons shall be classed as binding even if it is served less than 7 days before the date on which the witness is required to attend before the court or tribunal.

 

You might get a summons from the court if:

• they haven't been able to contact you with a witness warning;
• they think you might not come on the day;
• you've said you won't go to court; or
• you were told the date of the trial and you didn't attend.

 

Witnesses must be offered or paid a sum of money that is sufficient to cover their travel expenses to the court and back to their home or place of work. They should also receive some compensation for their loss of time.

 

If you need to arrange for childcare you can claim up to £67 for each day that you’re in court to cover the cost of paying for childcare (as of August 2021). If you take your children to court with you, you’ll need to bring a friend or relative with you to look after them. Children under 14 years of age aren’t allowed into the courtroom unless they are giving evidence. Check to see if the court you’re going to has baby changing facilities if you need them.

If a witness does not comply with a summons, they may be liable to a fine in County Court proceedings, or could even be imprisoned for contempt by a High Court.

 

How we can help

Whilst giving such a testimony may seem fairly matter-of-fact, we would never suggest a client attend court without our professional representation, on receiving the summons your first thought should be whether the courts required information can be provided in writing. For instance, if they want to know about your savings then maybe a bank statement would suffice. If it does need your attendance then we would suggest that you contact us to arrange suitable representation.

 

To gain our assistance you need to open a case, this is done by taking advantage of our free consultation service, activated by the link at the top of the page, should you wish to start a case the caseworker will send you the suitable payment link.

 

Please note your caseworker can only give generic advice, their role is to prepare your details for handling by our legal team and to act as your point of contact, they will also issue you with your Password and PIN, these will be needed to log onto your client dashboard. From your dashboard you will be able to manage and view every aspect of your case, upload documents, images, files etc.