A "Cheat Sheet" for a barrister or a solicitor (or for a client to understand what's going on in the mind of the barrister or the Judge or the Magistrate in a court case in Australia) in relation to evidence provided by the other side. Court cases are decided according to law and on the evidence. If you are a party to court proceedings, you need to tender the evidence that supports your case. DocDownloand publishes a template on How to Draft Affidavits. In court, you also need to oppose the evidence of the opposing party, where it disagrees with you. This includes "Objecting" to this evidence, if it violates the "Rules Of Evidence". The main Rules Of Evidence in Australia are contained the in the Evidence Act of the Commonwealth, and of each State. These Acts are not identical, but they are very similar. Legal publishers also publish entire textbooks on "Evidence Law" which contain hundreds of "rules" and hundreds of "exceptions". DocDownloand does not give legal advice and, of course, we cannot list all the rules. You can download the Evidence Acts yourself for free. But here we list some of the main rules in this "Guide to Objecting to Evidence". Remember that you object not because you disagree, or think it is a lie, but because the question or the answer or the statement is "inadmissible". In court proceedings, a party or their counsel (usually their solicitor or barrister) makes objections to:
(a) spoken and written evidence, including -
i. the whole answer, or entire paragraphs of an affidavit or statement,
ii. sentences, or
iii. phrases and words, and
(b) questions asked of a witness
Objections are based upon -
(a) the "inadmissibility" of the oral evidence or deposition (affidavit or statement),
(b) the "incompetence" of the witness,
(c) the "form" or "subject-matter" of the question.
Different objections apply to "examination-in-chief", "cross-examination", and "re-examination".
All of these matters are given some definition in our cheat sheet.
L-HowTo3_0.docA "Cheat Sheet" for a barrister or a solicitor (or for a client to understand what's going on in the mind of the barrister or the Judge or the Magistrate in a court case in Australia) in relation to evidence provided by the other side.
