The Australian courts is rife with extremely specialised terminology that most people could have trouble understanding. When you, or someone near to you continues to be up against a criminal charge, it’s imperative that you view the legal terminology which is more likely to come up in legal documents and in a trial. Here we’ve provided a directory of some of the more confusing terms and definitions often found in the Australian criminal justice system.
Acquittal:
This term is utilized if the magistrate, jury or appeal court realize that you were not guilty of the charges against him/her.
Affidavit:
A written declaration made under oath before a notary public and other authorised officer. The individual that has written the declaration states that the contents are, to the better of their knowledge, true.
Appeal:
To create an appeal is always to have a case into a higher court in order to challenge a determination manufactured by a lower court or tribunal. By way of example, an appeal coming from a decision of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia may be designed to the government Court. The one that appeals is called the ‘appellant’. However, it’s worth noting that does not all decisions could be appealed.
Committal Hearing:
It is a hearing of all the so-called evidence that sports ths charge inside the lower court by the magistrate who decides if you have sufficient evidence to the case to attend trial. In most committal hearings, there could be witnesses that are necessary to provide evidence.
Complainant:
This is actually the expression used in the court to refer to the victim of the crime committed.
Defendant:
This is actually the expression used in the court to refer to the individual that is being charged with an offence. This term is interchangeable with ‘the accused’.
Deposition:
It is a typed copy of the evidence recorded in the court.
Exhibits:
All evidence (aside from evidence provided by the witnesses) necessary to present the situation to the court, including photographs, clothing, documents or some other things that may be highly relevant to the situation.
Indictable Offence:
A critical Brisbane lawyer which is commonly heard in the higher court before the court plus a jury. Less serious indictable offences, called summary offences, are often heard in the Local Court.
Indictment:
It is a formal written accusation charging you aren’t an offence which is supposed to have been tried in the higher court.
Jurisdiction:
This is actually the extent of legal authority/power of the Court to apply what the law states. By way of example, in Australia the government Court has jurisdiction under greater than 150 Acts of the Commonwealth Parliament.
Mediation:
It is a process whereby a neutral third party, called the mediator, assists in causing an agreement or agreed settlement without requiring your choice of an Court.
Plaintiff:
This is actually the expression used to refer to the individual or party who initiates a civil action. Quite simply, this is actually the person or party who brings a case up against the defendant, and seeks punishment to the person or people who committed the crime.
Plea:
This is where the accused person (the defendant) tells a legal court whether they are guilty or otherwise not responsible for the charge against them. When the accused pleads guilty, a trial will not take place along with the case proceeds into a sentencing hearing, which determines the punishment to the crime.
Subpoena:
A subpoena compels each side somebody at the trial in order to testify and/or produce documents. It is a court order, and if it’s disobeyed, the disobedient person could possibly be in contempt of court.
Voir Dire:
It is a legal argument regarding the admissibility of an certain part of evidence in the court. In the event that this argument should occur, the witness along with the jury are sent of court until it finishes.
If you have inquiries regarding a criminal charge in Brisbane, please don’t hesitate to make contact with us. Only at Guest Lawyers, we specialize in criminal law and will be delighted that will help you with inquiries or concerns. Goal to provide honest, respectful and straightforward to understand legal counsel in order to slow up the stress linked to your litigation.
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