Admissibility of Evidence

Question 1

What is admissible evidence?

Answer 1

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)

Question 2

What is Inadmissible evidence?

Answer 2

Evidence that is not permitted to be put before the court for consideration.

Question 3

Evidence can be broken down to four types of evidence, what are these?

Answer 3

Direct
Documentary
Real
Circumstantial

Question 4

What is Direct Evidence?

Answer 4

The testimony of a witness to a given fact

eg A person who sees an offence being committed telling the court what they saw.

Question 5

What is Documentary Evidence?

Answer 5

Documents produced for the court or judge to inspect.

eg the infringement notice written out for an offence

Question 6

What is Real Evidence?

Answer 6

Material objects directly presented for inspection

eg. The chain that was used to tie the dog up, can also be an ION

Question 7

What is Circumstantial Evidence?

Answer 7

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 inferrence that the person was in the house

Question 8

What is Burden of Proof?

Answer 8

Simply means the responsibility, or onus, of establishing the case concerned.

The prosecution has the responsibility, or onus, of establishing the defendant’s guilt.

Sometimes the burden of proof can shift to the defence.
eg. Section 66 of Arms act 1983

Question 9

What are the Facts in Issue?

Answer 9

All the ingredients of the offence, including the ID of the offender

These ingredients are the facts in question.

Question 10

What is Evidence?

Answer 10

Is the information given personally, or drawn from a document or exhibit that tends to prove or disprove a fact.

Question 11

What is Relevance?

Answer 11

To be admissible the evidence must be relevant.

There must be a connection between fact given as evidence and the facts in issue.

Question 12

What makes a witness Competent?

Answer 12

Competent as a witness if they are:

allowed by law to give evidence.

Question 13

What makes a witness Not Competent?

Answer 13

Not Competent (SCIMI)

S = The SOVEREIGN
C = a very young CHILD
I = INTOXICATED
M = MENTALLY Impaired
I = A person is very ILL

Question 14

What makes a witness Compellable?

Answer 14

Any person who is competent to give evidence is compellable to give that evidence.

Question 15

What makes a witness Non Compellable?

Answer 15

Judge
Juror
Sovereign 
Governor General
Bank Officer producing banking records
The accused

Question 16

What makes evidence credible?

Answer 16

Credibility of evidence means the extent to which evidence will be regarded as true.

Evidence must be Admissible / Relevant

What impression the witness makes.
Witness must be honest and tell only what they know, and are prepared to say when they don’t know.