I would recommend that you engage a good lawyer, one with significant litigation experience and an understanding of the issues at hand, to represent you and your interests, which are different and distinct from either of the parties. Assuming that you are a fact witness and that your testimony is confined to facts, your good name and reputation will not be sullied.
Ask HN: Should I testify?
241–250 of 250 posts
Re: Ask HN: Should I testify?
#242Earlier quoted context omitted.
You can certainly aspire to that. Some companies are really good at hiding their true colors. Mortgage, kids... Sometimes you need a paycheck.
This is what they mean by 'your house is not an asset' Mortgages are not inherently bad. It's what you take the mortgage for is the bad decision. Example: Good: Having a mortgage for a legal duplex (2 dwellings) and renting the other half out, while you live in one. Bad: Getting a house that's one big sink hole of cash and having more bedrooms/lawn/what have you. You can be employed to build someone else's dreams. Ho…
My reading of “your house is not an asset” is “Robert Kiyosaki apparently failed Introduction to Accounting because he still doesn’t know the definitions of basic accounting terms.” (Except in very rare cases, like when the verdict against you for the neighbor kid drowning in your pool is more than your house will sell for.)
Re: Ask HN: Should I testify?
#243Earlier quoted context omitted.
You can certainly aspire to that. Some companies are really good at hiding their true colors. Mortgage, kids... Sometimes you need a paycheck.
This is what they mean by 'your house is not an asset' Mortgages are not inherently bad. It's what you take the mortgage for is the bad decision. Example: Good: Having a mortgage for a legal duplex (2 dwellings) and renting the other half out, while you live in one. Bad: Getting a house that's one big sink hole of cash and having more bedrooms/lawn/what have you. You can be employed to build someone else's dreams. Ho…
I could have just as easily used "rent" instead of "mortgage". Spare me the political grandstanding.
Re: Ask HN: Should I testify?
#244Is it Gawker? Please be Gawker.
Re: Ask HN: Should I testify?
#245When the end comes and you look back on your life, how will reflect on the choices you made? I would testify. Consider that the law firm can subpoena you. If the choose to do that you would have no choice but to testify - or rather, you could be prosecuted if you choose not to.
Presumably in California USA you can be forced to take the stand as witness but not compelled to bear testimony or indeed speak? (eg http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-rights/fifth-amendment-... penultimate heading).
I don't get it. What's wrong with my question?
Re: Ask HN: Should I testify?
#246Earlier quoted context omitted.
Presumably in California USA you can be forced to take the stand as witness but not compelled to bear testimony or indeed speak? (eg http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-rights/fifth-amendment-... penultimate heading).
The fifth amendment right against self-incrimination only applies to criminal matters, not civil matters. There is a lot about employment law, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act that is civil and not criminal. Also it is the right against SELF incrimination. One can be compelled to incriminate others.
Surely as late2part's sibling post sort of suggests without hearing your testimony the judge can't determine whether it's likely to incriminate you or not - you're called as witness to an RTA that you weren't involved in but you were running drugs at the time? Or you're called on a employment law issue but you should have been under a non-compete [which of course may not be legal, but you don't know that and you can't disclose it without potentially incriminating yourself]? Or ...
What's the measure for "self incrimination". For example if I'm called as a witness for a relatively minor offence (non-violent theft say) but it will mean giving evidence that I was cheating on my spouse; that's not criminal but it's potentially going to ruin my life, why would I testify?
What about the converse, there's almost always something you could decide was unlawful, you were speeding, you dropped litter, you jaywalked, you illegally parked - if your testimony might reveal such things then can you claim the fifth?
Re: Ask HN: Should I testify?
#247Earlier quoted context omitted.
And you'd have no argument from me there ! :) How would you consider each were you in this situation?
It would depend very heavily on the nature of the charges. In general, however, I don't think that I would want to work for a company that would hold a bias against me due to my participating in presumably honest testimony when a previous employer was brought to court for whatever reason.
Got it, cool. :)
Re: Ask HN: Should I testify?
#248I've worked for a number of employers that violated state and federal laws, in fact one asked me to lie on in a federal court on their behalf.
Ive always kept my mouth shut for the same reasons... most employers are doing something wrong, and no one likes a tattletail.
Re: Ask HN: Should I testify?
#249Seems like any company you would potentially work for that is turned off by the fact you testified against a former employer who was BREAKING THE LAW...probably isn't the type of place you should be working. Right?
Re: Ask HN: Should I testify?
#250I'm in slightly similar situation in terms of speaking out against a huge firm in the Valley. This firm found out about my east coast start-up and invited us to demo our novel technology. They made promises of buying it for lots of money. Well we flew out there and it was a nightmare, as we were treated like dogs and or worse. There is a ton of bad behavior going on in this industry and I have pondered whether or not…
Well in this case you have to speak out.. to atleast signal to the next set of scammers to not mess with you.
Scammers HA this is one of the biggest companies in the world. They have some real jerks working for them!