A witness who failed to give evidence at an ACT Supreme Court trial has been jailed and fined.
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Ellie Trewartha ignored a subpoena to give appear as a witness in the trial of her cousin, Kylie Bullock, in November last year.
Bullock was acquitted of two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Justice Hilary Penfold issued a warrant for Trewartha's arrest when she did not attend, and she was nabbed by police soon after.
She was charged with failing to answer a subpoena, an offence that carries a maximum penalty of six months jail and a $5000 fine.
There was no dispute Trewartha received the subpoena and knew, including from discussions with staff of the Director of Public Prosecutions, that she was required to attend court.
Trewartha told the court she had skipped court because her life was very difficult at the time, so she put her problems before the subpoena.
She said she did not believe her evidence was significant to the case and thought the information she had already given to the DPP could be used without her attendance.
But Justice Penfold, in a sentence published this week, said Trewartha’s evidence would have been significant in this trial.
“It is possible to see, at least in relation to the matters that she was asked about, why she might have thought that her evidence wasn’t significant,” Justice Penfold said.
Justice Penfold said Trewartha also appeared unwilling about giving evidence because the defendant was her cousin.
The court heard the Trewartha had no previous criminal history.
Justice Penfold ordered the offender pay a $250 fine and spend one night behind bars, backdated to include the night she had already spent in custody.
“Having regard to the explanations offered for her failure to attend, I am satisfied … that Ms Trewartha’s failure to attend court was without just cause or reasonable excuse,” the judge said.
“Refusing or failing to attend court, in particular, as appears to have been the case here, consciously failing to attend court to give evidence under a subpoena, is a serious matter in any situation."
The judge warned Trewartha she faced jail time if she failed to answer a subpoena again.