How does a felony ID theft affect me out of state? 13 Answers as of February 23, 2012

I think the "victim" has to appear at his own expense. You have the right to confront your accusers directly. That means the "victim".

Yes, the state (District Attorney) pays for the witness to come back to testify if they are motivated enough. Obviously, this gives you some leverage when negotiating the case as it is a more difficult case to prosecute.

If the DA filed here, they think they can convict you. That means they are willing to arrange transport of witnesses as necessary. You can not assume you have any edge because of the distance situation, nor can you assume they are bluffing. You are facing all the same issues and risks of any defendant. Of course you can fight the charges. When arrested or charged with any crime, the proper questions are, can any evidence obtained in a test, search or confession be used against you, can you be convicted, and what can you do? Raise all appropriate defenses with whatever witnesses, evidence and sympathies are available for legal arguments, for evidence suppression or other motions, or for trial. If you don't know how to represent yourself effectively against an experienced prosecutor intending to convict, then hire an attorney that does, who will try to get a dismissal, diversion program, reduction, or other decent outcome through plea bargain, or take it to trial if appropriate.

If you're facing felony charges, the "complaintant" is the District Attorney in the county where you allegedly committed the offense. If by "complaintant" you mean a witness, the District Attorney can subpoena them to testify. They don't have to pay their way. Although, if the witness is very important to their case, they might. They do not have to pay your way to come and defend yourself. If they issue a warrant for your arrest and seek to extradite you, then they will pay all the expenses necessary to have you hauled back to their state in chains. Do NOT ignore this. Do NOT assume you are "safe" because you are in California and the charges come from out of state. Consult a criminal defense attorney right away.

DA will have to subpoena the individual to come and testify.

Depends on the amount of the loss. If it is substantial they will bring the witness out here. They don't need him for the preliminary hearing as the cop can testify to what was said; they threw the hearsay rule out the window for the Prelim.

Witnesses do not have to show up at pretrial hearings. If this charge is a felony you will have a preliminary hearing. During a preliminary hearing the court will hear evidence to see if you are to be held over for trial. Due to proposition 115 witnesses do not have to appear at the preliminary hearing. If an officer interviewed the witness that officer may testify as to what the witness said. Even though this is considered hearsay evidence it is allowed but only for this hearing. If the case goes to trial the state pays for the witness to come and testify. If the witness does not come for the trial the hearsay evidence of the officer cannot be used. Does this make it harder to prosecute you? That depends on the facts of the case and other evidence against you. If you do not have an attorney yet you should retain one NOW! Do not talk with anyone other than your attorney about the incident.

You need to consult directly with a criminal defense attorney. There is no way I can answer all of these questions without asking several dozen questions of my own. For example, is this a state or federal prosecution? Ordinarily, the prosecution will assume the costs of getting the witnesses to court, but again, is this for a state or federal prosecution? Are you anticipating a complaint or an indictment? You really need to consult with a lawyer to get direct answers.

If the case does not settle before trial the state will have to transit the complaining witness. The officer can testify at the preliminary hearing but not at the trial. Overall this tends to motivate the prosecution to make better offers.

You have a nunmer of questions which could take some time and detail to answer. As they could also result in the release and discussion of information you just might wnat not to reveal, hire an attorney. However, generally the out odf state complainant ids not a major impediment to prosecution. At the initial stages, an officer can testify to any conversation between he and the complainant. Trial is a different matter.