How to write a Winning witness statement for court – The Ultimate Guide

What is the Purpose of a Witness Statement

A witness statement is a very important document in your court case as it sets out all the key things that you want to say in relation to the evidence that you want to give. Getting it right from the outset is crucial, particularly if you are going to end up giving evidence under oath at an upcoming court hearing. It gives you a clear basis for your evidence and helps you to speak the language of the Court.
It’s important to remember that court proceedings are formal environments that can be confusing for anyone when dealing with a legal issue for the first time. Your witness statement is the first formal evidence that you will give to the court. On its most basic level , it acts as a factual story book that allows the judge/key decision maker to understand the background details of your case.
Which facts to include and which to leave out is not always simple, and drafting your statement incorrectly can cause you issues later in your proceedings. You can’t change your mind later down the line and want your witness statement to be as accurate and reliable as possible. It is often the basis on which a winning or losing case turns.
This means that when writing a witness statement, you should be as objective and impartial as possible, using factual language and sticking to the situation at hand without distracting the reader with other information.

The Basic Elements of a Witness Statement

Essential elements that should be included in a witness statement are:
A. Personal Details
In any witness statement, your personal details should always be recorded at the beginning of the statement. This allows for a clear identification by the reader of who the witness is and where they can be contacted after the trial. It is a requirement of a witness statement that the witness date their signature and include their name and address at the end of the document. Therefore, you should include your:

• Full Name
• Address
• Date of Birth
• Occupation

B. A clear chronology of the incident or events
Your witness statement should be a clear chronology of events that has occurred. It is important to describe the events in the witness statement in chronological order so the reader of the witness statement is able to follow the events clearly from your perspective. It is essential that you are also able to follow your account of events as they make sense when recorded in order. This will also assist you if need to recall the events in Court.
C. A description of what you saw (the facts)
As a witness of a specific event, it is imperative that you only describe what you saw or heard at the time of the events in your witness statement. You should not include opinions or assumptions in your account of events; these should only be included if you are asked about your opinions in the witness box at trial. They key components of your account of events in the witness statement, should include:

• Where the events took place;
• When the events took place;
• Who was present at the events;
• What happened including what you heard;
• What you were thinking while the events were happening.

Formatting a Witness Statement

One of the most heartbreaking things I have seen as a family lawyer is an otherwise outstanding client’s case being ruined by a poorly written witness statement. Therefore, I put a lot of emphasis on preparing an effective witness statement and this post sets out instructions on how to do this. Client’s often complain that they are not writers. That’s OK because the witness statement doesn’t have to be perfect but it should be helpful.
Whose statement is it?
Whose statement you ask? Even the most experienced lawyer will occasionally receive a witness statement that is quite clearly written by the client but signed by someone else. The lawyer can hardly sign that without disclaiming its accuracy. That is why often it is better for the lawyer to write the statement as then there can be no question about who is responsible for its content. In my practice I ask the client to take a wish list approach and write down the "facts" of their case in point form. The second stage is for me to turn these points into a witness statement. However, I always encourage clients to read the statement carefully and any inaccuracies must be corrected because nobody wants to give evidence that contains uncorrected inaccuracies. If you cannot afford a lawyer, you could always ask a friend who is a good writer to help you create your witness statement.
What should the witness statement contain?

• An introduction setting out the purpose of the witness statement i.e. to provide the reader with a clear sense of the deponent’s life during the period in question, as well as the facts that the deponent considers material to the legal issues in dispute.
• An introductory narrative paragraph explaining who the deponent is and giving a brief history of the deponent’s life. This should include details such as where the deponent was born, when the deponent arrived in Australia, the kind of schooling the deponent attended, whether they undertook any further education, where they worked and key relationship milestones.
• The circumstances leading up to the hearing should be addressed by answering the following questions: when did the parties separate? What were the circumstances of the separation? Where the parties living together for some time after they separated? Where and when did the parties first sense that things were not working out in their relationship? When did the parties agree that their relationship was over?
• Some questions that may be useful when addressing the circumstances that caused the parties’ relationship to break down include: if the deponent feels that his or her spouse brought an unreasonable pressure to bear; what effect did the marital discord have on the children if there were any; what measures did the deponent take to save the marriage; did the parties separate and reconcile several times before ending the relationship; is the deponent aware of the other party engaging in an unreasonable lifestyle during the marriage or the separation; and if so, when did the other party’s behaviour change and how did this impact on the children and the parties’ relationship?
• A narrative paragraph for each issue in dispute. This would include details such as how the children spend their time, the arrangements for spending time with them and communicating with them, MARA issues, the relationship between the parties, including what factors have impacted on the relationship, each parties’ contributions, parenting arrangements and what the deponent wants the Court to do with respect to the Property Orders.
• The final paragraph of the witness statement should include details of the person signing the witness statement and where they currently live.

Format
Your statement should

• Use headings for each section
• Include numbered paragraphs
• Use gender-neutral pronouns when referring to the parties
• Include page numbers
• Number and label each exhibit
• Include a certificate of truth
• Include signature block so that the statement can easily be saved on a computer and for space to provide a full signature
• Include the date of signing.

Tone
The tone of the statement should be neutral and factual. The last thing your Ex or the Judge want to read about is how badly you have been treated. They don’t need or want to know how outraged you are – that should be described in your legal pleadings and supporting affidavits.
Checklist for the format of your statement

• Provide a one-sentence summary of the contents of each of the disclosures attached as an exhibit.
• Keep paragraphs short and make sure sentences are easy to read.
• Avoid jargon or words that you might find in a law book.
• Use a neutral and factual tone rather than an emotional one and do not use the statement for to air grievances.
• Be objective in your style and ensure that you properly and accurately describe all events rather than exaggerate or make them seem worse than they are.
• KISS – keep it simple, stupid.
• Check for spelling and grammatical errors.
• Print out the witness statement and read it through once again.
• Seek feedback from another person on the content of the statement.
• Read through the final draft once more before making it final.
• Keep a detailed copy of the witness statement together with the other documents relating to your case in a safe place.

Mistakes to Avoid on a Witness Statement

One critical mistake made by those who are new to providing witness statements is failing to focus on what needs to be included in the document. The statements must be strictly confined to facts and cannot offer any opinions. For example, "I saw the defendant hit the pedestrian" is an appropriate fact for the witness statement, while "I think the defendant intentionally hit the pedestrian" is not. Any opinion contained in the witness statement or provided outside the document can result in it being disallowed as evidence in the case, significantly limiting or outright eliminating the statement’s usefulness for any individual or group. Without the ability to work with your own or another party’s statement, it may be next to impossible to try to get to the bottom of what really occurred in a case. It should also be noted a witness statement must be kept to the point. If the statement gets lengthy, it will be difficult to pick out easy-to-miss details that could be extremely important for the case overall. Aim to provide just the necessary information, and nothing more. Lengthy witness statements can also lead to questions that might never come up if the statement was shorter. Always remember to seek legal representation before submitting a witness statement. A qualified lawyer will be able to ensure the statement is complete while avoiding all of the common mistakes people tend to make when writing these documents.

Example of a Witness Statement

The following is a sample witness statement intended for use in court proceedings. While it is again important to note that specific legal effect of any document depends on the case issues and facts, and the laws of the juristic person (state, territory or subdivision thereof) in which the question arises, a comparison of the present example with the previous examples sheds much light on the elements of an effective witness statement.
Name:
Address:
Occupation:
I am employed as a [Occupation].
I have been employed in my present capacity since the [Date], in which time I have become familiar with documents, files and records maintained by [Company Name], including but not limited to those relating to this action. On approximately the [Date and Time], I reviewed and examined electronic and paper records of [Company Name] relating to [Client Name or designation of debtor, as appropriate]. My examination with respect to this action was made in the ordinary course of business. The documents and records I reviewed were made and/or kept in the ordinary course, and consistent with, the regularly conducted business activity of [Company Name], and were recorded at or near the time of the transaction, event or activity referred to therein. I have had personal knowledge of the relevant transactions, events and/or activities involved in the subject of this action since the [Day of Month] of the month preceding the month in which my statement is being made. Additionally, I have personal knowledge of the transactions, events and/or activities described in my statement as a result of my review of records or files of [Company Name], to which I have access in the regular course of business.
Pursuant to my review of the records and files of [Company Name], and further documentation from [Company Name] , I certify that the amount due and owing from [Client Name or designation of debtor, as appropriate)], to [Company Name], is as follows:
Amount Due and Owing:
Account No.:
Activity Level:_____ (if the electronic billing statement contained such a notation)
Interest Amount:
Fees Amount:
Total Amount:
I have reviewed and reconciled the bases for the above calculation and am familiar with the rates, calculations, and formulas to be used for determining the appropriate amounts due, upon re-judgment and/or satisfaction of this debt, to [Company Name]. All amounts currently due and owing from [Client Name or designation of debtor, as appropriate)] to [Company Name] are reflected in the above reconciliation and calculation, and are the amounts, and the only amounts, required to satisfy this debt. [Company Name] has no claims against [Client Name or designation of debtor, as appropriate)] other than that set forth in this statement and records.
The records, bills, statements, reconciliations and calculations set forth herein as attachments and/or referred to and identified in the caption of this statement are true and correct copies of the originals kept in the ordinary course of the business of [Company Name], and accurately reflect and have not been altered from the originals of same kept by [Company Name] in the ordinary course of business.
The amounts stated herein are due and owing to the [Company Name] and are justly owed and paid, and [Company Name] possesses no offset(s) or claims of its own against [client Name or designation of debtor as appropriate)] that are in any way related to the account(s) stated herein.
[Any additional statements and/or qualifications required for the specific juristic person, territory, jurisdiction or subdivision thereof, and/or as to the witness’ opinion and/or observation(s), should be added.]

Giving an Effective Witness Statement

To give a persuasive witness statement, it is crucial that you provide evidence that is consistent with the facts of the case and is credible. You should ensure that you can substantiate all the evidence that you give, even if you fail to mention anything at all about a certain piece of evidence in your statement and it is relied upon by the other side. If you cannot do this, it is likely that your evidence will be disregarded by the judge.
Your witness statement is only as good as the evidence relied upon to prove what you have said.
So, make sure you identify every piece of evidence you rely upon to support the points that you make in your witness statement. This may include witness statements, photographs, transcripts of phone calls, text messages or emails, and financial documents. Make sure you keep these documents somewhere safe so that you can easily locate them if your witness statement is disputed in court. If you need specific copies of documents for the court hearing, get them scanned in and take the original documents with you to court.
If you are giving a witness statement to be used in the Family Court, in financial proceedings you should also differentiate between your own assets, liabilities and sources of income, and those of your spouse or civil partner. This will help to support your statements by proving that you have considered which assets you have relied upon.
The rules regarding witness statements differ from forum to forum, so check out the guidance from the tribunal or magistrates court, so that you are aware of any specific points you need to include. You should take the time to complete your witness statement and check that it makes sense and is laid out in a logical order.
Although you should ensure that your witness statement is detailed enough to address all issues in sufficient detail, you should ensure you only include relevant information and avoid making sweeping statements. For example, do not state something along the lines of "The defendant is a liar." Instead, you should state "On [insert date], the defendant told me that no money was transferred to [insert name]," and provide evidence of the conversation you had.
Finally, if you need assistance, seek professional legal advice.

The Law and Confidentiality

While there are no hard and fast legal rules governing the writing of witness statements, it is worth noting that the statement constitutes a written record of a witness’s oral evidence. Once a statement is served on the other party it can no longer be amended by the party who composed it without the consent of the other party. If the party who composed the statement gives oral evidence in the court proceedings, the judge or jury are entitled to rely on the witness statement and may place significant weight on its accuracy.
Therefore accuracy is important when composing a witness statement because if it is inaccurate it can damage a case and even if a witness composes a new witness statement , it may be difficult to get the court permission to file. Inaccurate witness statements would be considered to give rise to serious professional misconduct. This is because creating a witness statement is a significant evidential exercise. Therefore if the statement is inaccurate and relies on incorrect evidence it could pretty much amount to perjury or "the making of false instrument" under the Fraud Act 2006 (which places the act in line with perjury).
Confidentiality issues should also be considered as when conducting an investigation it is likely to be sensitive information is collected. Wherever possible, the minimum level of data should be maintained and only shared with those that have responsibility for resolving the issue. It should not be used for any purpose other than that necessary to resolve the matter in hand (such as say, potentially being used in later litigation which is not connected with the original claim). There could be incidents whereby matters have been investigated in confidence by the employer. Such issues could be the potential for damaging an employee’s reputation or causing unnecessary alarm.