# Would a judge let a victim have a conversation with the accused?



## DOGGLEBUNNI (Apr 2, 2018)

My story involves a kidnap victim who marries her captor and is then married to him. He turns himself in, she still loves him. The marriage is not recognized in the United States, so she is not legally married in the US. She is also 17, and her parents wouldn't let her see him regardless if it were possible or not.  I know that there is something about the defendant having the right to be "confronted with the witnesses against him" but in the story, he pleads guilty, so there is no trial. So the scenario is this: the victim walks into court pretending to be a paralegal, she has documents for the defense attorney. When she reaches the defendant she tries to talk to him. The judge orders the courtroom cleared, and then he gives her a minute to talk to the defendant. Would this happen in a real-life situation? Thank you.


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## ironpony (Apr 2, 2018)

Is she testifying against him at all?  Cause if not, I don't think this kidnapping would be taken seriously at all by the courts, without any victim cooperation, and wouldn't go far in the pre-trial process I don't think.


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## GhostScore (Apr 3, 2018)

> The judge orders the courtroom cleared, and then he gives her a minute to talk to the defendant. Would this happen in a real-life situation?


 No. Lawyers can be charged with contempt of court, and even jailed for that matter, so no.


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## Jack of all trades (Apr 3, 2018)

How old was she when kidnapped?

It would take years for a kidnap victim to feel love for a captor, I would think.

If the parents won't let her see the captor, then I doubt she would be able to dress like a paralegal and get to court.


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## DOGGLEBUNNI (Apr 5, 2018)

The defendant has actually turned himself in, I know that you can't be convicted on just your own confession, not without some other evidence. There is also a co-conspirator involved.


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## DOGGLEBUNNI (Apr 5, 2018)

She was 16, she spends almost two years with him.


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## DOGGLEBUNNI (Apr 5, 2018)

The defendant's lawyer is actually just as surprised as everyone else. I don't know, maybe this scenario is not even possible, maybe I have just watched too much Law and Order.


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## ironpony (Apr 6, 2018)

When you say the defendant turned himself in, why does he have a lawyer if he has chosen to give up?  Is he trying to cut a deal of some sort?


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## GhostScore (Apr 7, 2018)

DOGGLEBUNNI said:


> The defendant's lawyer is actually just as surprised as everyone else. I don't know, maybe this scenario is not even possible, maybe I have just watched too much Law and Order.



A real court _isn't_ quite like sitcoms. The girl would likely be thrown in jail, not allowed to talk with her kidnapper. Even if he wasn't her kidnapper she'd still likely be thrown in jail for breaching some court regulation.


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## Jack of all trades (Apr 10, 2018)

DOGGLEBUNNI said:


> She was 16, she spends almost two years with him.



Alright. Then she's 18,  not 17. Her parents can't legally stop her from visiting with him in jail. He would probably spend some time in jail before the hearing.


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