Is there Criminal Legal Advice Free on the Internet?

My daughter van was stolen 2 years ago. The Feds said this big drug dealer in Las Vegas stole her van. The Feds want my daughter to testify against him even thro she didn;t see him steal her van. He told the Feds he got the van thru a friend. They want her to testify that she didn't give him permission to use her van. She is scared because when he stole the van he had her keys he knows where she lives and she is scared for family. Does she have to testify?Is there Criminal Legal Advice Free on the Internet?
To answer your first question, checkout www.lawyers.com. They have a Q%26amp;A section which is very helpful. Word your questions precise and carefully, you will get some responses.





best of luck! Is there Criminal Legal Advice Free on the Internet?
Another place to look at is Lawyeryourself.net. They have a forum and a DVD that can help

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If she was properly served with a subpoena to appear in court, she must appear or risk having a warrant for her arrest issued.





Why did this drug dealer have her keys??? If she is afraid she may be incriminating herself in the drug deal somehow, she is entitled to cousel, free of charge to represent her...if she legitimately has a Fifth Amendment Right issue.





Being scared is NOT enough to prevent her testimony. Further, she should tell the Feds so a protective order or other measures can be made to protect her.
Assuming your daughter was never associated with the drug dealer, or that she never participated in any illegal activities with him, she is really only left with two options: testify, or ask the court to accomodate her concerns about testifying.





Accomodations the court can make are limited somewhat by the Constitution, which guarantees accused parties the right to confront the witnesses against them. However, courts often allow videotaped testimony, or testimony from depositions, as long as the accused counsel is allowed to cross-examine the witness.





If she did participate with him in illegal activities, she has a third option: she can refuse to testify on the grounds that she might incriminate herself. However, the prosecutor may still try to compel her testimony by granting her immunity from prosecution.





I would imagine that if she did not witness the theft of the van, the scope of her testimony will be limited to answering questions like ';was this your van?'; and ';where did you last leave your van parked?'; Those types of questions and answers aren't usually the types of things that invoke the retribution of criminals, so she should probably just cooperate.





However, if there is a unusual reason for concern, she just needs to bring it up with the prosecutor and the judge. The judge knows that testifying against people can be a difficult and sometimes dangerous thing to do, and he might tell the prosecutor to find a different way to make the case if the judge feels your daughter is in danger.





It wouldn't hurt to hire a lawyer, if that is an economically viable option. Convincing the judge that her testimony is irrelevant or would put her in jeopardy is something that would be done by filing and arguing a motion and, although she could try to file and argue her own motion, a lawyer would be a tremendous help in that regard.