misleading justice

Question 1

perjury definition

Answer 1

s108 crimes act 1961

1) perjury is an assertion as to a mater of fact, opinion, belief or knowledge made by a witness in a judicial proceedings as part of his 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 to mislead the tribunal holding the proceeding

Question 2

what is the punishment for perjury under s109 of crimes act 1961

Answer 2

1) imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years
2) where perjury is committed to procure the conviction of a person for an offence with a maximum penalty of no less than 3 years imprisonment then the punishment may be 14 years

Question 3

what is the punishment for false oaths - s110 of crimes act 1961

Answer 3

imprisonment term not exceeding 5 years

Question 4

what is the punishment for false statements or declarations - s111 of crimes act 1961

Answer 4

imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years

Question 5

evidence of perjury, false oath or false statement - s112 of crimes act 1961

Answer 5

a person cant be convicted of perjury on the evidence on one witness alone unless it can be corroborated in some material particular by evidence

Question 6

what is the punishment for fabricating evidence section 113 of crimes act 1961

Answer 6

imprisonment term not exceeding 7 years

Question 7

what are the elements of perjury

Answer 7

• a witness making any
• assertion as to any matter of fact, opinion, belief or knowledge
• in any judicial proceeding
• forming part of that witness’s evidence on oath
• known by that witness to be false, and
• intended to mislead the tribunal

Question 8

what is a witness

Answer 8

a witness is a person who gives evidence and is able to be cross examined in a proceeding. this includes a person who is actively engaged in the process of giving evidence and/or one who has previously given evidence. the term witness also includes a person who will give evidence

Question 9

assertion

Answer 9

something declared or stated positively often with no support or attempt made at furnishing evidence or proof of the assertions accuracy

Question 10

matter of fact

Answer 10

the term matter of fact is a term used by the court to distinguish a particular kind of fact

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

Question 11

opinion

Answer 11

defined in s4 of the evidence act 2006

opinion, in relation to a statement offered in evidence means a statement of opinion that tends to prove or disprove a fact

a statement of opinion is not admissible in a proceeding except as provided by s24 and 25 of the evidence act 2006

Question 12

s24 and 25 of the evidence act 2006

Answer 12

s24 - opinion evidence of witness may be admissible for witness to communicate or the fact finder to understand what witness saw, heard or perceived

s25 - deals with admissibility of expert opinion evidence

Question 13

belief

Answer 13

belief is essentially a subjective feeling regarding the validity of an idea or set of facts. it is more than mere suspicion and less than knowledge.

belief is having faith in an idea or formulating a conclusion as the result of considering the available information

Question 14

knowledge

Answer 14

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

Question 15

what ways can a person give evidence under section 4 of the evidence act 2006

Answer 15

a) in the ordinary way described in s83; personally in court or by affidavit
b) in an alternative way as provided for by s105; CCTV, DVD, screens etc
c) in any other way provided for under this Act (evidence act 2006) or any other enactment

Question 16

oath

Answer 16

declaration before a person who has authority to administer oath, which invokes some religious belief and says that a thing is true or right eg a christian would swear oath on bible

Question 17

affirmation

Answer 17

a verbal or written declaration before a person who has authority to administer an oath, saying that a thing is true or right without reference to religious belief

Question 18

declaration

Answer 18

a witness under 12 years old may make a declaration, which is a promise to tell the truth

Question 19

what proceedings require corroboration

Answer 19

s121 of evidence act 2006

1) it is not necessary in a criminal proceedings for evidence on which prosecution relies to be corroborated, except with respect to the offences of
a) perjury; and
b) false oaths; and
c) false statements or declarations; and
d) treason

Question 20

why is there a requirement for evidence of perjury to be corroborated

Answer 20

to protect witnesses from vexatious accusations of lying on oath and making it too easy to prosecute someone for perjury might discourage people from giving evidence

Question 21

conspiring to defeat justice s116 of crimes act 1961

Answer 21

everyone is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years who conspires to obstruct, prevent, pervert or defeat the course of justice

Question 22

course of justice

Answer 22

the administration of justice by the courts is at its heart. the course of justice includes proceedings initiated and continuing before a tribunal as per s108(4)

Question 23

what are some examples of conspiring or attempting to mislead justice under s116 and 117 of the crimes act 1961

Answer 23

• preventing a witness from testifying
• wilfully going absent as a witness
• threatening or bribing witnesses
• concealing the fact an offence has been committed
• intentionally giving police false information to obstruct their inquiries
• supplying false information to probation officers
• assisting a wanted person to leave the country
• arranging a false alibi
• threatening or bribing jury members

Question 24

what are the general guidelines when investigating misleading justice offences

Answer 24

• conspiring to defeat course of justice encompasses both civil and criminal proceedings
• it is no defence to a charge of conspiring to defeat the course of justice that the aim of the offender was to secure a just result, or one they believe was right
• in situations where you are unable to establish a conspiracy pursuant to section 116, the evidence may reveal a wilful attempt to obstruct, prevent, pervert the course of justice subject to s117
• you may only commence a prosecution for perjury where recommended by the courts or the commissioner of police

Question 25

when may a prosecution for perjury begin

Answer 25

• an individual may complain that someone has perjured themselves
• a judge may state or direct in a court recommendation that the police undertake inquiries into the truth of the evidence given by a witness

Question 26

what happens if there is no corroborating evidence for a charge of perjury

Answer 26

the judge judge must stop the case at the close of the prosecution case and direct an acquittal

Question 27

what intent must you have to be able to prove in order to establish a charge of perjury

Answer 27

that the offender intended to mislead the tribunal holding the judicial proceeding

Question 28

what are the two main points to be covered when interviewing a suspect in respect of perjury

Answer 28

• whether the suspect knew their assertion was false

- whether they intended to mislead the tribunal governing proceedings