Hearsay Statements

Question 1

Admissibility of hearsay statements

Answer 1

s. 18 – Evidence Act 2006 – General admissibility of hearsay evidence
1) A hearsay statement is admissible in any proceeding if;
a) The circumstances relating to the statement provide reasonable assurance that the statement is reliable; and
b) Either; (i) The maker of the statement is unavailable as a witness; or
(ii) The judge considers that undue expense or delay would be caused if the maker of the statement were required to be a witness.

Question 2

Statements taken from people who may die

Answer 2

A statement taken from a person who may die can be presented as evidence to court if they are dead at the time of the hearing and reasonable assurance of the statements reliability can be shown.

Question 3

Helping prove reliability of hearsay statements

Answer 3

To be considered admissible evidence, the court must be satisfied that both the content and the the person who made it a are reliable, you must therefore record any factors that demonstrate this reliability.
e.g:
Nature of the statement
The contents of the statement
The circumstances relating to the making of the statement
Circumstances relating to the veracity of the person making the statement
Circumstances relating to the accuracy of the observation of the person