Elements of Evidence 1 Flashcards
Purpose of Evidence Act 2006 as per S6
(a) - (f)
The purpose of this Act is to help secure the just determination of proceedings by:
(a) providing for facts to be established by the application of logical rules
(b) providing rules of evidence that recognise the importance of the rights affirmed by the NZ Bill of Rights Act 1990
(c) promoting fairness to parties and witnesses
(d) protecting rights of confidentiality and other important public interests
(e) avoiding unjustifiable expense and delay
(f) enhancing access to the law of evidence
What makes good evidence? (3)
Facts that prove the charge (or elements of the charge) - the actual charge and its elements should be borne in mind when deciding what evidence is relevant and what evidence will help prove guilt.
Facts in issue - facts relevant to the facts in issue tend to prove or disprove a fact in issue. E.g. no witnesses, but physical evidence is found during a search. Provides a picture of what happened.
Circumstantial evidence - can offer indirect proof of a fact in issue. As more circumstances lead to the inference of existence of a fact in issue, the chain of circumstantial evidence becomes stronger.
The general rule and the exceptions
A general rule of evidence is that all facts in issue and facts relevant to the issue must be proved by evidence.
The two main exceptions are when no evidence needs to be given of facts because:
-judicial notice is taken - when a court takes judicial notice of a fact, it declares that it will find that the fact exists, or will direct the jury to do so even though evidence has not been established that the fact exists. E.g. Christmas Day is 25 December.
-the facts are formally admitted - in a trial, counsel for either party can accept that some evidence is accepted or proven at the outset. S 9(2) and 9(3) provide that defence or prosecution may admit any fact and therefore dispense with proof of that fact.
S128 - Notice of Uncontroverted Facts.
(1) A judge or jury may take notice of facts so known and accepted either generally or in the locality in which the proceeding is being held that they cannot reasonably be questioned.
(2) A judge may take notice of facts capable of accurate and ready determination by reference to sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned and, if the proceedings involve a jury, may direct the jury in relation to this matter.
S 128 is concerned only with facts that are facts in issue or relevant to a fact in issue.
S129 - Admission of Reliable Published Documents
(1) A judge may, in matters of public history, literature, science or art, admit as evidence any published documents that the judge considers to be reliable sources of information on the subjects to which they respectively relate.
Presumptions
How do they arise?
Two types?
Where no direct evidence is offered or is obtainable, disputed facts are sometimes inferred from other facts which are themselves proved or known. In such cases, the inference is called a “presumption.”
Presumptions of law - inferences that have been expressly drawn by law from particular facts. They may be either conclusive (child under 10 can’t be convicted as per Crimes Act) or rebuttable (all defendants are innocent UNTIL proven guilty).
Presumptions of facts - those that the mind naturally and logically draws from the given facts, e.g. a person has guilty knowledge if they have possession of recently stolen goods. These presumptions are simply logical inferences and are always rebuttable.
Relevance as per…
S7(1)(a) & (b)
S7(2)
S7(3)
S7 - Fundamental principle that relevant evidence admissible
(1) All relevant evidence is admissible in a proceeding except evidence that is -
(a) inadmissible under this Act or any other Act; or
(b) excluded under this Act or any other Act.
(2) Evidence that IS NOT relevant is not admissible in a proceeding.
(3) Evidence IS relevant in a proceeding if it has a tendency to prove or disprove anything that is of consequence to the determination of the proceeding.
Is unreliable evidence admissible?
Can relevant evidence be excluded if it unreliable?
Although unreliability is not a general ground of inadmissibility, the Act contains specific exceptions to this.
Relevant evidence may sometimes be excluded - or if admitted may attract a judicial warning because it is regarded as unreliable (S122).
The Act contains some exclusionary rules that look to reliability, including rules relating to hearsay and identification evidence.
It is important to ensure that evidence obtained is reliable.
