Admissibility of Evidence Flashcards
What is Admissible Evidence?
Evidence is admissible when the court is legally able to receive it.
The evidence must have been obtained and given under accepted legal requirements and rules. (Bill of Rights, Practice notes)
Evidence can be broken down to four types of evidence, what are these?
Direct
Documentary
Real
Circumstantial
What is Direct Evidence?
The testimony of a witness to a given fact
eg A person who sees an offence being committed telling the court what they saw.
What is Documentary Evidence?
Documents produced for the court or judge to inspect.
eg the infringement notice written out for an offence
What is Real Evidence?
Material objects directly presented for inspection
eg. The chain that was used to tie the dog up, can also be an ION.
What is Circumstantial Evidence?
Facts, other than the facts of issue, from which the facts of issue may be inferred
e.g finding a person’s finger prints in a house raises interference that the person was in the house.
What is Burden of Proof?
Simply means the responsibility, or onus, of establishing the case concerned. The prosecution has the responsibility, or onus, of establishing the defendant’s guilt.
What are the Facts in Issue?
All the ingredients of the offence, including the ID of the offender.
What is Evidence?
Is the information given personally, or drawn from a document or exhibit that tends to prove or disprove a fact.
What is Relevance?
To be admissible the evidence must be relevant.
There must be a connection between fact given as evidence and the facts issue.
What makes a witness Competent?
Competent as a witness if they are allowed as a matter of law to give evidence.
What makes a witness Not Competent?
Not Competent (SCIMI)
S = The Sovereign C = a very young Child I = Intoxicated M = Mentally Impaired I = A person is very Ill
What makes a witness Compellable?
Compellable in civil or criminal proceedings means:
Any person who is eligible to give evidence is compellable to give that evidence.
To be compellable, a witness must first be competent.
What makes a witness Non Compellable?
Judge Juror Sovereign Governor General Bank Officer producing banking records The accused
