The Australian judicial system is rife with extremely specialised terminology that a lot of people could have trouble understanding. When you, or someone in your area may be up against a criminal charge, it’s important to comprehend the legal terminology that is certainly planning to appear in legal documents and throughout a trial. Here we’ve provided a list of a number of the more confusing terms and definitions often employed in the Australian criminal justice system.
Acquittal:
This term is used when the magistrate, jury or appeal court find that one is innocent from the charges against him/her.
Affidavit:
An itemized declaration made under oath before a notary public or another authorised officer. The individual that has written the declaration claims that the contents are, towards the better of their knowledge, true.
Appeal:
To create an appeal would be to take a case into a higher court in order to challenge a conclusion created by a reduced court or tribunal. As an example, an appeal from a decision from the Federal Circuit Court of Australia could possibly be built to the government Court. The individual that appeals is termed the ‘appellant’. However, it is worth noting that not all decisions might be appealed.
Committal Hearing:
This is a hearing of all the so-called evidence that supports the charge from the lower court by a magistrate who decides when there is sufficient evidence for that case to attend trial. In some committal hearings, there can be witnesses who are forced to provide evidence.
Complainant:
This can be the term used in the courtroom to consult the victim from the crime committed.
Defendant:
This can be the term used in the courtroom to consult the one who will be arrested for an offence. This term is interchangeable with ‘the accused’.
Deposition:
This is a typed copy from the evidence recorded in the courtroom.
Exhibits:
All evidence (apart from evidence provided by the witnesses) forced to present the case towards the court, such as photographs, clothing, documents or any other items which could possibly be highly relevant to the case.
Indictable Offence:
A life threatening Criminal law firms Brisbane that is certainly commonly heard inside a higher court before a judge plus a jury. Less serious indictable offences, termed as summary offences, are often heard inside a Local Court.
Indictment:
This is a formal written accusation charging having it . an offence that is certainly intended as tried inside a higher court.
Jurisdiction:
This can be the extent of legal authority/power from the Court to use the law. As an example, around australia the government Court has jurisdiction under a lot more than 150 Acts from the Commonwealth Parliament.
Mediation:
This is a process whereby an impartial 3rd party, called the mediator, aids in bringing about an agreement or agreed settlement without requiring your decision of an Court.
Plaintiff:
This can be the term used to consult the person or party who initiates a civil action. Put simply, here is the person or party who brings an instance against the defendant, and seeks punishment for that person or those who committed the crime.
Plea:
This is when the accused person (the defendant) tells legal court whether are guilty you aren’t accountable for the charge against them. If the accused pleads guilty, an effort is not going to happen as well as the case proceeds into a sentencing hearing, which determines the punishment for that crime.
Subpoena:
A subpoena compels the look off a person at a trial in order to testify and/or produce documents. This is a court ruling, of course, if it is disobeyed, the disobedient person might be in contempt of court.
Voir Dire:
This is a legal argument regarding the admissibility of an certain little bit of evidence in the courtroom. In the case that this argument should occur, the witness as well as the jury are sent of court until it finishes.
In case you have questions regarding a criminal charge in Brisbane, please don’t hesitate to call us. Right here at Guest Lawyers, we concentrate on criminal law and can be happy that may help you with questions or concerns. The purpose to offer honest, respectful and easy to know legal advice in order to lessen the stress related to your litigation.
Check out about Criminal law firms Brisbane view our new web page: look at here