I'll see you in court!

Okay, so maybe that was not the exact message I received when I check my voicemail yesterday morning. However, when the words "subpoena" reached my ears, I may have let out an involuntary yelp.

That's right, folks, I've been subpoenaed.

Yours truly has been called as an eyewitness in a criminal court case.

I'm reluctant to speak of the details here, but I do want to clarify a little. Contrary to popular perceptions, I am not, in fact, an international spy or a gang member. Rather, this summer, while on our way to a movie, the Duke and I witnessed a crime in progress at a train station. Remembering all the research on the bystander effect (and there were actually people just walking on by), I was a good little bystander, and called the police, while the Duke attempted to stop the incident from progressing any further. I gave descriptions, the police came, handcuffed the suspect, we provided formal statements, etc, etc. We missed our movie, but had a good story to tell.

Fast forward several months, to yesterday to be exact. The two of us are called by the prosecutor to inform us that a subpoena is on its way and that we will need to make an appearance in court in December. Oddly enough, this comes right after a lengthy discussion in my psychology and law class regarding the flaws in eyewitness testimony.

I'm a little scared, to be honest. I'm pretty confident with public speaking, but the idea of swearing an oath in front of a courtroom and being cross-examined is a little petrifying. Sure, the likelihood of the court case going through is slim, and it is hardly a murder case, so the questions will likely exclusively relate to my written statement. I still can't help but picture being called out on my general credibility or being caught in a mistake.

"Your Honour, how can we trust this woman? I know for a fact that when she was 16, she was in a car full of adolescents pulled over for speeding... and unopened alcohol was found in the trunk of the car!"

*cue collective gasp from the jury*

"And she said the defendent was a man in his twenties, when she in fact was a woman in her 80s with one leg!"

*cue angry pitchforked mob chasing me*

Have any of you ever been to court before? Care to reassure me or frighten me further?

Edit: And, yes, Mister Ant (in comments) is correct. I don't intend to speak of this matter in any more detail-- I'm sure you all can understand why.