It's a traditional common law directive (now given a 'gloss' at s 78A of the Juries Act 2000) that jurors are not to make their own enquiries about the case they are required to decide.The rationale is easy to follow. Evidence that goes into the jury room without the knowledge of the court hasn't had …
Tag: common law
Markovic v The Queen; Pantelic v The Queen [2010] VSCA 105: the role of mercy in sentencing
Markovic pled guilty to 11 counts of deception in the County Court. In a separate hearing, Pantelic pled guilty to three charges relating to child pornography. Both men were sentenced to terms of imprisonment, and sought leave to appeal their sentences. In Markovic v The Queen; Pantelic v The Queen [2010] VSCA 105, the Court …
What does "de facto binding" mean?
What will be the strength of NSW decisions on their Evidence Act 1995 (which is not identical with our new Act) in Victorian courts? Will those cases be binding or merely persuasive?It's impossible to argue that they won't, at the least, be highly persuasive. There's no point re-inventing the wheel. The decisions of other jurisdictions …
What does "de facto binding" mean?
What will be the strength of NSW decisions on their Evidence Act 1995 (which is not identical with our new Act) in Victorian courts? Will those cases be binding or merely persuasive?It's impossible to argue that they won't, at the least, be highly persuasive. There's no point re-inventing the wheel. The decisions of other jurisdictions …
Selective answering
Section 89 of the Evidence Act 2008 is sure to generate some fresh discussion about whether selective answering can be a valid source of inferences about an accused's consciousness of guilt.The prohibition on the selective answering of an accused in response to police questioning being used to infer a consciousness of guilt - or at least …