Rules Of Evidence

Question 0

A person Is unavailable as a witness if:

Answer 0

DUNCO

Dead

Unfit

Not compellable - conflict of interest judge, juror, defendant against co defendant

Cannot with reasonable diligence be identified or found

Outside NZ and it is not reasonably practical to be a witness

Question 1

Explain chant with regards to reliability of a hearsay statement

Answer 1

Contents of the statement

• is the content of the statement in a logical order
• can the statement be corroborated
• would the information in the statement have been know to the statement maker only.

How the statement was taken

• what was the physical environment like. Rain/ night?
• what was the mental state of the person. Drunk / tired?
• how did they conduct themselves. Calm, frightened, panicked?
• when was the statement made in relation to the event it refers to?
• was the statement given under duress?

Accuracy of the statement
- were then any external factors that may have impeded the statement makers ability to understand what was conveyed. Noisy bar, people distracting?

Nature of the statement

• is if first hand or second hand hearsay?
• what form is the statement recorded in? Oral, written?

Truthfulness of the maker of the statement

• was there motive to lie
• what was the demeanour of the statement maker? Eg nervous?

Question 2

What is opinion evidence?

Answer 2

Is an inference from observed facts.

expert opinion evidence - opinion of evidence in the field where they have expertise at, like doctor etc

Non expert opinion evidence
- is normally not admissible except:

HAMI

Handwriting - identify handwriting

Age - opinion of a persons age

Mental or physical condition - of themselves not of other people

Identification - they can identify a person as someone they saw in the past

Question 3

What is propensity evidence?

Answer 3

Evidence that tends to show a persons tendency to act it a certain way

It is generally not admissible when used just to show a disposition towards wrongdoing by someone

Question 4

What is hearsay evidence?

Answer 4

Is the oral or written statement of a person who is not produced as a witness in court, rather the statement is given to the court by another person or in a document as evidence of the truth.

Hearsay can be admissible if the statement is reliable and either the person is unavailable, or it would cause undue expense or delay in obtaining the witness.