By Anonymous - 07/07/2009 05:46 - United States

Today, I found out that my father, who is divorced from my mother, has set up a lawsuit against her and that I am required to go to court and testify against her as a witness. I've tried to keep neutral for six years, and I'll go to jail if I don't show up. FML
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Top comments

mijzelffan 0

ouch. Just say you're staying neutral in the court

130 1
Hazimius 0

Despite the OP having no control over the situation, there are still YDI votes...

122 2

Comments

cucuto89 0

In america, we have something called the 5th ammendment. You don't have to say a word

0 0
LachelnKind 0

And in America you can only use that to not incriminate yourself..... idiot.

2 0
skullbuster 0

Another moron who knows nothing about the laws of this country! I was wondering who we were trying to help when everyone was talking about 'no child left behind', now I have my answer.

2 0
LysssNysss 1

It's fake. In the Bill of Rights, you can stay silent. You can't testify against your parents. How the hell did this fml get published when it's so ******* obvious its fake?

0 6
lexiBRo 0

you obviously have never read the bill of rights

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skullbuster 0

You are a raving idiot! There is absolutely nothing that says you can't testify against your parents! I feel really old now because I remember a time when only educated people knew how to use a computer. You had to have technical know-how to get online. Now anyone can go down to WalMart and pick up a $200 P-O-S PC and logon! Go back to 6th grade social studies and leave the rest of us alone you MORON!

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avoidthegirl 6

Aaaaaaand congratulations! You've joined the millions of Americans who have absolutely no grasp of their own Constitution! You can only plead the fifth if what you had to testify for was self-incriminating. God people are stupid.

3 0
emcue786 0

Ouch, hard position. I agree with the comments above. You don't have to pick sides.

0 0
stephsteph90 0

ok seriously all of the people with the "I plead the 5th" comments are retarded. you seriously need to read the bill of rights and stop getting everything from movies.

2 0
avoidthegirl 6

Seriously, that' so ****** up. I realize that divorce can get nasty, but what kind of parent sues the other and then drags their kids into their mess? As soon as you get called to the stand just tell the judge that you can't testify against your own mother, regardless of the situation, because it would damage your relationship with her (and hell, if it's true, say that you have a closer relationship with her than your dad). If my dad tried to pull that shit I'd get up on the stand and tell him to **** off and start talking about how awful of a parent he was.

1 0
skullbuster 0

Listen, just go and be honest. And I'd take a moment to ask the judge if you can add something and then make it known how screwed up it was for your father to involve you in this at all. The courts are always babbling about the "best interest of the children", I'm certain they will indulge you for a minute. Or, there is always the other way to play it, tell your Dad you don't want to testify and if he won't pull the subpoena, go into that courtroom and call him a big ******* liar and a deadbeat dad!

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letitbe56 0

I am horrified by the lack of understanding of the 5th Amendment displayed by so many of you...here it is: No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. Nowhere does it say that you have the right not to speak as a witness in cases in which you are not the defendant. If the OP was subpoenaed, he has to go to court and testify. End of story.

2 0
L0veh8te 0

In Stupid terms, you can only use the 5th amendement to protect yourself if it appears the questions to be self incriminating. But cannot be used in this situation right here. Fake passing out, let the record show that the witness has fainted on the witness stand. =)

0 0
skullbuster 0

The problem here is that a good percentage of the commenters and posters on this site are teenagers. They have a sense of entitlement and the worst thing they have to put up here is that their boyfriend broke up with them in a text message, or my personal favorite, the kid who beat off into a sock and lit it on fire because he was told it was inflammable. People are still trying to figure out what this kid thought inflammable meant. I hope for their sake that they hire a really good lawyer should they ever encounter the US court system because it is blatantly obvious that the public education system has failed these kids on even the most basic tenets of our rights as US citizens. A little less time on FYL and a little more time on your textbooks kids!

3 4
musu_fml 0

Hold on a sec, isn't a lawsuit a civil matter; thus, they can't force you to attend court for it; even when you're the defendent in a civil matter, you don't HAVE to attend (it just gets ruled against you). So either I'm wrong on this, or the part about the OP risking jail if they don't attend is BS, or it's some kind of criminal case, not a lawsuit.

1 3
skullbuster 0

Ok, please, turn off your computer and go find a remedial summer school social studies class. And while you are at it, sign up for reading comprehension as well. The OP is not a party to the lawsuit, he is being called as a witness. And even in civil matters, if you ignore a court subpoena, the judge can issue a bench warrant and compel you to appear.

2 1
lexiBRo 0

lol I agree.. Either this site is full of middle schoolers or everyone slept through government class in high school.

1 1
musu_fml 0

Congratulations on assuming I'm from your country and went through the same education you did, and would be intimately familiar with how your screwed-up justice system works. I fully admitted that I could be mistaken, as I was only speaking from how it works in my country. Tell me this; a lawsuit is a civil matter, meaning it CANNOT result in a prison sentence for the defendant. If that's the case, how on EARTH could a prison sentence result for any witnesses failing to show up? If it really is the case that it can happen, then your system is laughable. Hang on a second, I wasn't quite right there; your justice system is already laughable, whether or not this is true.

1 0
lolwatlol 0

Just go and say the truth, if your mom gets in trouble because of that then its her own fault. You are not on eithers side.

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joho104 0

For the record to some people who said you can't be forced to testify, you can its called a subpoena which means you must testify. And you can't just not answer the questions either, you will be found in contempt o court and will spend the night in jail. Neither can you plead the 5th which only apply if what you say would incriminate yourself by revealing a crime you have committed. So basically show up answer the questions. It sucks but by law you have to.

2 0