Evidence part 2 rules of evidence Flashcards
6 category of rules of evidence
the rules deal with, veracity, propensity, hearsay, opinion, identification and improperly obtained evidence.
Veracity rules / purpose
focus on truthfulness and not attempting to control evidence about the accuracy of a statement by a person attempting to tell the truth
cannot challenge veracity unless witness declared hostile or unless the evidence is substantially unhelpful in assessing that person veracity
When can veracity evidence be offered
In order to offer evidence of a defendants veracity the prosecution must show veracity is relevant, the defendant has offered evidence about their veracity, or challenged a prosecution witness veracity.
The evidence must meet the substantial helpfulness test.
The Judge must allowed permission to offer the evidence.
What the judge must consider in term of veracity
Judge may take into account for veracity:
if the defendants/witness veracity has been put in issue in the defendants evidence
the time that has elapsed since any conviction which prosecution seeks to use as evidence
whether veracity evidence given by the defendant was elicited by prosecution
Propensity evidence definition, and when it cant be used
Evidence that tends to show a person propensity to act in a certain way or have a certain state of mind, being evidence of acts, omissions, events or circumstances with which a person is alleged to have been involved
But doesn’t include evidence of
one of the elements of the offender for which the person is being tried
or the cause of action in the proceeding in question.
When propensity evidence arises for a defendant and examples of it
a defendant may offer propensity evidence about themselves, this then allows the prosecution / other party with the judges permission to offer propensity evidence.
e.g good character conduct, disreputable conduct, neutral things eg. attends a class weekly.
What should a judge consider before allowing propensity evidence
frequency of acts/ ommissions/ events/ circumstances
connection in time
extent of similarity
number of complainants
whether complaints are similar or whether they could be collusion
the extent of the unusualness of the evidence and offence
Rei v R - for propsenity evidence to be admissible
constitute of propensity evidence
have probative value in relation to the facts in dispute
have probative value that outweighs the risk of unfair prejudice (prosecution to prove)
Hearsay
A statement that was made by a person other than the witness and is offered in evidence at the proceeding to prove the truth of its contents
s17 hearsay rule
A hearsay statement is not admissible except when provided under other provisions in the act but still must comply with hearsay rules.
Hearsay s18 criteria
Must meet two criteria (s18)
reliability
unavailability or that undue expense or delay wold be caused
Reliability is proved when it can be proved that there is reasonable assurance that the statement is reliable.
Circumstances to prove reliability (hearsay)
nature of the statement
contents of the statement
the circumstances that relate to the making of the statement
any circumstances that relate to the veracity of the person
any circumstances that relate to the accuracy of the observations of the person
Other consideration could be, is it signed, witnessed, was it first hand, was it written or oral etc.
Unavaliabilie and examples (hearsay)
Hearsay statement can only be admissible if the maker is unavailable to endue expense/delay would be caused.
Unavailable = dead, outside of NZ and not practicable to be a witness, unfit due to age/medical/physical, cannot be found, or is not compellable to give evidence
The opinion rule
The opinion rule - a statement of opinion is not admissible in a proceeding unless provided by s24 (help communication), or s25 (expert).
purpose of the opinion rule
Purpose - to exclude conclusions drawn from perceptions.
