A. One who sees, knows, or vouches for something.
Listen to pronunciationLegal Definition - n. 1. One who sees, knows, or vouches for something. 2. One who gives testimony under oath or affirmation (1) in person, (2) by oral or written deposition, or (3) by affidavit. Black's Law Dictionary® Eighth Edition © 2004
You may also see witness used as a verb as well as a noun, to witness something. In other words, to witness is to see or observe something personally.
There are many types of witness. Here are a few that you may need to know.
Subscribing Witness - someone who witnesses the signature on a document and signs at the end of the document. For example, when you sign a Last Will and Testament, you will often need witnesses to say that they saw you sign the document.
Character Witness - a person who testifies in court about another person's character or reputation in the community.
Expert Witness - A witness qualified by special skill, expertise, education or knowledge to provide the court with scientific or technical opinions.
Disinterested Witness - A witness who has no private interest in the subject of the lawsuit.
Recent Usage - A defense witness in the Enron trial chipped away yesterday at government claims that a former chief executive, Jeffrey K. Skilling, allowed off-the-books partnerships to be used to manipulate Enron's books.
The witness, Mark Metts, a former Enron vice president who oversaw asset sales, testified in the fraud trial of Mr. Skilling and the former chairman of Enron, Kenneth L. Lay, that Mr. Skilling made an effort to rein in Andrew S. Fastow, the former chief financial officer, when he tried to use his LJM partnership to buy company assets under preferential terms.
Mr. Metts said that Mr. Skilling was "extremely supportive" when Mr. Metts refused to give preferential treatment to LJM, a move that he said set off a tirade by Mr. Fastow.
The defense questioned four witnesses on Tuesday, including a manager, Wade Cline, who was in charge of a troubled Enron power plant project in India. Mr. Cline challenged testimony by a government witness that the company knew the project was hopelessly overvalued. Only two witnesses are scheduled to testify before Mr. Skilling, 52, who may take the stand today, said Daniel Petrocelli, Mr. Skilling's lead lawyer. Witness Says Skilling Tried To Put Some Rein On Fastow by ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO, New York Times April 5, 2006