5. Course of Evidence - Judicial directions and warnings

Question 1

Outline judicial warnings the judge may give to the jury when evidence should be scrutinised with particular care?

Answer 1

1.judicial warning that evidence may be unreliable – s122
2. judicial directions about certain ways of giving evidence – s123
3. judicial warnings about lies – s124
4. judicial directions about children’s evidence – s125
5. judicial warnings about identification evidence – s126
6. delayed complaints or failure to complain in sexual cases – s127.

Question 2

under s122(2) the judge must consider whether to give a warning when particular evidence is given. What are the types of evidence?

Answer 2

1. hearsay evidence:
2. evidence of a statement by the defendant, if that evidence is the only evidence implicating the defendant:
3. evidence given by a witness who may have a motive to give false evidence that is prejudicial to a defendant:
4. evidence of a statement by the defendant to another person made while both the defendant and the other person were detained in prison, a police station, or another place of detention:
5. evidence about the conduct of the defendant if that conduct is alleged to have occurred more than 10 years previously

Question 3

What is the difference between s122(1) and 122(2) in relation to the need for the judge to provide a warning?

Answer 3

1. The judge may warn the jury about evidence they think may be unreliable
2. the judge must consider doing so whenever certain classes of evidence are given.

Question 4

s124 deals with instructions to the jury about evidence that a defendant has lied beofre or during a crimianal proceeding. what should the warning include?

Answer 4

1. the jury needs to be satisfied that the defendant did lie before they use the evidence,
2. people lie for various reasons, and
3. the jury should not necessarily conclude that just because the defendant lied he or she is guilty of the offence charged.

Question 5

s125 deals deals with evidence given by children. what does it prohibit?

Answer 5

1. the judge from giving warnings about the absence of corroboration where a warning would not have been given in the case of an adult complainant
2. any direction or a comment (absent expert evidence to the contrary) that there is a need to scrutinise children’s evidence with special care, or that children generally have a tendency to invent or distort.