Edit: One of the authors of the book discussed below has contacted us and advised that, in fact, it is an annotated reproduction of the Act.

The sample copy I was provided some time ago is clustered around topics and appeared to be structured like a textbook, but the published version is apparently more like Odgers’ work (but with a Victorian emphasis).

Mirko Bagaric and Peter Faris have released their take on the new Evidence Act 2008, Victorian Uniform Evidence Act.

I had a look at an advance copy a while ago. The authors approach the Act in the sequence that evidentiary issues are likely to arise: the text begins with a discussion of relevance as the gateway test of admissibility, works through the rules for admissibility and then the discretions to exclude.

While this makes it less useful as a quick reference in court than an annotated Act like Odgers’ Uniform Evidence Law, the approach that Faris and Bagaric have adopted is probably better for developing an understanding of how the new provisions fit together as a cohesive whole when doing research. There’s selected extracts from the ALRC Reports and Victorian Explanatory Memorandum that could also be quite useful.

Faris has pulled his annotated text on bail from the internet. Not enough people were accessing it, presumably because not enough people knew that it existed. A print copy will be available soon according to his website.

A clear example of use it or lose it, I suppose.