Generally, witnesses, apart from experts retained by the parties, must come to court to testify about matters that they have knowledge of without payment. It is a civic duty imposed upon all citizens in order to insure a just and fair judicial system.

Contact the Victim/Witness Assistance Program of the District Attorney’s Office at (916) 874-6218 or daoffice@sacda.org. A victim advocate will explain the process and answer any questions you may have.

Yes. The defendant has the right to be present in court to hear what all the witnesses say about him or her. Both the prosecutor and the defendant’s attorney will ask you questions.

A subpoena is a court order that must be obeyed. If you have a date conflict, contact the deputy district attorney listed on the subpoena before the appearance date and discuss your conflict. If you do not appear without receiving permission from the deputy district attorney, a warrant can be issued for your arrest.

Witnesses are not limited to eye witnesses. You may not have seen the crime happen but you may know something about it. You may also know something about a piece of evidence, or you may know something that contradicts another witness’s testimony. If you wonder why you are testifying in a particular case, contact the deputy district attorney listed on the subpoena for more information.

When you receive a subpoena from the District Attorney’s Office, please contact the deputy district attorney listed on the subpoena to get further information and instructions.

Call the California Department of Justice Identity Theft Registry 1-888-880-0240 or visit http://oag.ca.gov/idtheft, or the Identify Theft Resource Center 1-858-693-7935 or http://www.idtheftcenter.org/. To obtain a copy of the ID Theft Affidavit form for reporting identity theft, go to www.consumer.gov/idtheft, and also see “When Bad Things Happen to Your Good Name” on the same page. Report the identity theft crime to the Federal Trade Commission at https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/#crnt&panel1-2 for entry into the Consumer Sentinel database.

When a criminal case has been resolved, our office sends a property release to the law enforcement agency that handled the case. You should contact that law enforcement agency directly. If they do not have a release on file, please contact our office at 916-874-6218 or daoffice@sacda.org and the attorney who handled the case will review your request and prepare a property release, if appropriate. In certain cases we are required to wait at least 60 days to see if an appeal is filed. If you are the victim, in many cases we may be able to have your property photographed and returned to you. We do not authorize the release of firearms or other contraband to defendants after a conviction.

If the defendant is on probation, restitution is usually paid through the Department of Revenue Recovery. You may call them at (916) 875-7500 or email them at DRRMail@saccounty.net. If the defendant is on formal probation, you may also contact the assigned probation officer by calling the Probation Agency at (916) 875-0300. You may also email the District Attorney’s Office at restitution@sacda.org for inquiries regarding restitution.

We also work with victims and witnesses in obtaining criminal protective orders after a criminal case has been filed. If a case is presented and filed, the assigned prosecutor can request a criminal protective order in court. You may call our Victim Witness Unit at (916) 874-6218 to determine if either of these orders may be appropriate in your matter.