Law Quest {Evidence & Defence} Flashcards
What is Direct Evidence?
• evidence obtained from a witness who actually saw offence being committed
Ex. Lebron goes to his bank and walks in a robbery in progress. He sees a man wearing a Gucci shirt and blue jeans, pointing a gun at his favourite bank teller
What is Circumstantial Evidence?
• Evidence of an indirect nature, still useful
Ex. In his bank parking lot, Kyrie hears 3 gunshots go off. Seconds later, from his hiding spot, he sees a man wearing a Gucci shirt and blue jeans exit the bank with two money bags and a gun
What is Similar Fact Evidence?
- Evidence that the accused had committed smt similar in the past
- if they did the offence before, there is probably a chance they could have committed the offence again
Ex. A career criminal that has stolen his 30th basketball using a similar technique
What is Hearsay Evidence?
• What someone else other than the witness said or wrote (Sometimes not reliable)
*Allowed if witness is quoting someone who is about to die, if it would have been admitted if the person lives
Ex. My sister’s boyfriend’s hairdresser said that he knew of a man whose friend saw the robbery last month
What is Opinion Evidence?
- Evidence what a person thinks in regard to facts in the arguments. It’s given by an expert
- unless witness is an expert, this type of evidence is usually not acceptable
Ex. Asking a forensic expert what caused the death of a murder victim would be allowed
Ex. Asking a pedestrian their ‘opinion’ on such a matter wouldn’t be allowed
What is Character Evidence?
- Evidence concerning the character of accused and previous convictions they had
- can heavily influence the jury
- Crown is restricted as to how to bring this Evidence in.
- jury has to decide guilt from the facts
- defence will use character evidence to support credibility of the accused
What is the defence of Alibi?
- proof that accused couldn’t have committed the offence
- best possible defence
Ex. JR Smith couldn’t have robbed the bank during spring break because he was at a liquor store in a different city
What is the defence of Self-Defence?
- to defend oneself, those under one’s protection, one’s movable property, and one’s residence and real property
- only use necessary and reasonable force according to circumstances
What is the defence of Legal Duty?
• someone under legal duty can commit certain actions that would otherwise make offences
Ex. A police runs a red light to catch Tabak in a high speed chase
What is the defence of Excusable Conduct?
• Provocation
- Criminal act must happen right after provoking act
- Provocation must be unlawful or an insult (ex. Tabak punches Bruce Lee who strikes him back and kills him)
• Necessity and Duress
- person acts unlawfully in order to avoid threat of immediate harm
• Honest Mistake
- unintentionally did a crime (walked out with a pencil and forgot to pay for it)
What is the defence of Mental Disorder?
• person has a disorder which caused them to do the act
Looks at:
- Mental fitness to stand trial
- Fitness at time of offence
What is the defence of Intoxication?
• person was intoxicated and couldn’t form intent of a crime but did the action
Ex. Tabak got drunk, walked out of a bar and beat a man to death
• self-induced intoxication is NOT a defence
What is the defence of Automatism?
• “unconscious, involuntarily behaviour - state of a person who, though capable of action, is not conscious of what he is doing.”
Ex. Sleepwalking, convulsions, etc
*insane automatism - disease of the mind
What is the defence of Consent?
- injured person consented to the action inflicted upon (ex. If Derrick Rose agrees to play basketball against the 76ers and gets hurt, he can’t sue for getting injured)
- if person goes beyond usual contact, the person will be found guilty of the crime
