NCJ Number
88177
Date Published
1982
Length
10 pages
Annotation
New South Wales should allow a 'hand-up brief' in indictable cases where a defendant pleads not guilty and should make unsigned records of interview inadmissible in criminal trials.
Abstract
Issues which should be explored further involve the police use of the 'tamper-proof' tape recorder during subject interviews. Affidavit evidence, in the form in which it is employed in the Equity Court, should generally not be allowed as a proper method of giving evidence-in-chief in criminal trials. New South Wales should change criminal trial procedures to allow the defense to present the last speech to the jury: the accused is innocent until proven guilty, and should therefore have the final opportunity to rebut the prosecution's charges against him. The judge should have the power to order proof of business records at trial. The pretrial conference should be utilized to make such determinations as the admissibility and relevancy of business records evidence. Finally, appellate procedures should be broadened to include most criminal matters at one level, rather than the existing system which provides multitudinous avenues for appeal.