Subpoena!

So I was sitting in my office writing a report, when my phone buzzed. It was the front desk, the secretary said that there was someone there to see me. There was something ominous about how she said "someone" but I figured it was another school psychologist, maybe a parent. I went downstairs and went to the front desk and found a guy wearing a jacket with a law enforcement badge on the shoulder. He asked me for my name, and then handed over a sheet of paper. I wish I could tell you what he said exactly. It could have been, "You are required to appear in court," or something like that. Maybe he didn't anything at all. I just remember that I was in disbelief because when I met with Children's Services, they made it sound as if I wouldn't be called to testify in court. The court case is a custody case between foster parents that want to adopt a student that attends my school, and his biological family. I had pretty much forgotten about the case, but then I received the subpoena.

I had a day to fantasize what it would be like to testify in court. I pictured stating my name, swearing in, and sitting on the stand answering questions in my most official school psychologist tone. Today the assistant attorney general called me and we discussed the case. She asked me about my education, credentials, and when I first met the student. I had a really cool story, because I remembered him from his very first day of school last year. He has a unique spelling of his first name and his teacher misspelled it. When the teacher was going around the room and asking students to tell something interesting about themselves, the student mentioned that his name was misspelled on the label that was sitting on his desk. I could empathize because my name gets misspelled a lot. Anyway, I kept talking to the attorney on the phone and it soon became apparent that I was not the best person to testify. The truth is, I have very little contact with the student. I don't provide psychological services to him, and I haven't dealt with any behavioral issues with him either. I told the attorney that I agreed to testify on behalf of our school's personnel, but she said she couldn't allow that. It would be hearsay. I guess it's her job to pay attention to such things. So in the end, she chose to withdraw my subpoena and serve the social worker instead. She would be more appropriate, but I'm disappointed in missing out on going to court. How often will I get the chance to participate in a hearing for a good reason. Let's hope that the next time I'm subpoenaed it won't be because of some sort of malpractice.

BBC