Misleading Justice Flashcards
Perjury defined:
Crimes Act Section 108 Perjury defined
(1)
Perjury is an assertion as to a matter of fact, opinion, belief, or knowledge made by a witness in a judicial proceeding as part of his or her evidence on oath, whether the evidence is given in open court or by affidavit or otherwise, that assertion being known to the witness to be false and being intended by him or her to mislead the tribunal holding the proceeding.
(2)
In this section the term oath includes an affirmation, and also includes a declaration made under section 13 of the Oaths and Declarations Act 1957.
(3)
Every person is a witness within the meaning of this section who actually gives evidence, whether he or she is competent to be a witness or not, and whether his or her evidence is admissible or not.
(4)
Every proceeding is judicial within the meaning of this section if it is held before any of the following tribunals, namely:
(a)
any court of justice:
(b)
the House of Representatives or any Committee of that House:
(c)
any arbitrator or umpire, or any person or body of persons authorised by law to make an inquiry and take evidence therein upon oath:
(d)
any legal tribunal by which any legal right or liability can be established:
(e)
any person acting as a court or tribunal having power to hold a judicial proceeding:
(f)
a disciplinary officer, the Summary Appeal Court of New Zealand, or the Court Martial of New Zealand acting under the Armed Forces Discipline Act 1971.
(5)
Every such proceeding is judicial within the meaning of this section whether the tribunal was duly constituted or appointed or not, and whether the proceeding was duly instituted or not, and whether the proceeding was invalid or not.
Formal Statement
Criminal Procedure Act 2011:
83 False statement in formal statement deemed to be perjury:
A formal statement filed under section 85 is to be treated as evidence on oath given in a judicial proceeding within the meaning of section 108 of the Crimes Act 1961 (which relates to perjury).
Punishment of Perjury:
109 Punishment of perjury
(1)
Except as provided in subsection (2), every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years who commits perjury.
(2)
If perjury is committed in order to procure the conviction of a person for any offence for which the maximum punishment is not less than 3 years’ imprisonment, the punishment may be imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years.
False Oath:
Crimes Act:
10 False oaths
Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years who, being required or authorised by law to make any statement on oath or affirmation, thereupon makes a statement that would amount to perjury if made in a judicial proceeding.
False statements or declarations
Crimes Act;
111 False statements or declarations
Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years who, on any occasion on which he is required or permitted by law to make any statement or declaration before any officer or person authorised by law to take or receive it, or before any notary public to be certified by him as such notary, makes a statement or declaration that would amount to perjury if made on oath in a judicial proceeding.
Evidence of perjury, false oath or false statement:
112 Evidence of perjury, false oath, or false statement
No one shall be convicted of perjury, or of any offence against section 110 or section 111, on the evidence of 1 witness only, unless the evidence of that witness is corroborated in some material particular by evidence implicating the defendant.
Fabricating evidence
Crimes Act:
113 Fabricating evidence
Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years who, with intent to mislead any tribunal holding any judicial proceeding to which section 108 applies, fabricates evidence by any means other than perjury.
Elements of Perjury:
-A witness making any
- Assertion as to any matter of fact, opinion, belief, or knowledge
-Forming part of that witnesses, evidence on oath
-Known by that witness to be false and
-Intended to mislead the tribunal
Witness defined
A witness as a person who gives evidence and is able to be cross-examined and proceeding.
Assertion
This is something declared or stated positively, often with no support or attempt made at furnishing evidence or proof of the assertions accuracy
Matter of fact
Used by courts to distinguish a particular type of information.
A fact is a thing done, an actual occurrence or event, and it is presented during court proceedings in the form of witness testimony and evidence .
Opinion section 4 EA 06
Opinion, in relation to a statement offered in evidence, means a statement of opinion that tends to prove or disprove a fact.
S24 EA 06 - evidence by lay witness
A witness may state an opinion and evidence and a proceeding if their opinion is necessary to enable the witness to communicate, or the fact finder to understand what the witness saw heard or otherwise perceived..
Knowledge
Simester and Brookbanks:
Knowing means knowing or correctly believing the belief must be a correct one, where the belief is wrong a person cannot know something .
Three ways to give evidence
1) in the ordinary way-personally in court or by affidavit
2) NN alternative way as provided for by S105
3) in any other way provided for under this act or any other enactment.
Define - oath, affirmation and declaration.
Oath is a declaration before a person who has authority to administer an oath, which invokes some religious belief and says that a thing is true or right.
Affirmation - this is a verbal or written declaration, before a person who has authority to administer an O, saying that I think is true or alright without reference to a religious belief.
Declaration a witness under 12 years old may make a declaration, which is a promise to tell the truth.
Intention to mislead - perjury
The offence of perjury is complete at the time. The false evidence is given a cabinet by an intention to mislead the tribunal. There is no defence where the witness later recants and informs the tribunal of the falsity.
R V Goodyear-smith court held that to be guilty of perjury, a witness must make a wilfully false statement and respect of an issue that the witness believes is of a material importance to the proceeding.
Corroborating Evidence
The court held there must be some corroborating evidence for the offences of perjury, false oath, or false statement, treason.
S121 EA 06
Conspiring to defeat justice
Crimes Act 1961:
116 Conspiring to defeat justice
Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years who conspires to obstruct, prevent, pervert, or defeat the course of justice in New Zealand or the course of justice in an overseas jurisdiction.
Examples of misleading justice - 116 and 117
-Preventing our witness from testifying
-Wilfully going absent as a witness
-Threatening or bribing witnesses
-Concealing the fact in offence has been committed
-Intentionally giving Police false information to obstruct their enquiries
-Assisting I wanted person to leave the country
-Arranging a false alibi
-Threatening or bribing jury members
Corrupting juries and witnesses
Crimes Act - S117
Corrupting juries and witnesses
Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years who—
(a)
dissuades or attempts to dissuade a person, by threats, bribes, or other corrupt means, from giving evidence in any cause or matter (whether civil or criminal, and whether tried or to be tried in New Zealand or in an overseas jurisdiction); or
(b)
influences or attempts to influence, by threats or bribes or other corrupt means, a member of a jury in his or her conduct as such (whether in a cause or matter tried or to be tried in New Zealand or in an overseas jurisdiction, and whether the member has been sworn as a member of a particular jury or not); or
(c)
accepts any bribe or other corrupt consideration to abstain from giving evidence (whether in a cause or matter tried or to be tried in New Zealand or in an overseas jurisdiction); or
(d)
accepts any bribe or other corrupt consideration on account of his or her conduct as a member of a jury (whether in a cause or matter tried or to be tried in New Zealand or in an overseas jurisdiction, and whether the member has been sworn as a member of a particular jury or not); or
(e)
wilfully attempts in any other way to obstruct, prevent, pervert, or defeat the course of justice in New Zealand or the course of justice in an overseas jurisdiction.
