The Australian legal system is rife with extremely specialised terminology that a majority of people may have trouble understanding. While you, or someone in your area has been confronted with a criminal charge, it’s imperative that you comprehend the legal terminology that is certainly prone to surface in legal documents and within a trial. Here we’ve provided a directory of some of the more confusing terms and definitions often utilized in the Australian criminal justice system.
Acquittal:
This term is used when the magistrate, jury or appeal court see that an individual is not guilty in the charges against him/her.
Affidavit:
An itemized declaration made under oath before a notary public or any other authorised officer. The one who has written the declaration claims that the contents are, towards the better of their knowledge, true.
Appeal:
To make an appeal is to please take a case with a higher court in order to challenge a determination made by a lesser court or tribunal. By way of example, an appeal from the decision in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia might be built to the government Court. The one that appeals is termed the ‘appellant’. However, it can be important to note that not all decisions may be appealed.
Committal Hearing:
It is a hearing of all evidence that supports the charge within the lower court by way of a magistrate who decides if you find sufficient evidence for that case to venture to trial. In some committal hearings, there might be witnesses that are required to provide evidence.
Complainant:
This is actually the term used in the court to refer to the victim in the crime committed.
Defendant:
This is actually the term used in the court to refer to the one that will be charged with a criminal offence. This term is interchangeable with ‘the accused’.
Deposition:
It is a typed copy in the evidence recorded in the court.
Exhibits:
All evidence (apart from evidence furnished by the witnesses) required to present the case towards the court, such as photographs, clothing, documents or another goods that might be relevant to the case.
Indictable Offence:
A serious Brisbane lawyer that is certainly commonly heard within a higher court before the court plus a jury. Less serious indictable offences, referred to as summary offences, usually are heard within a Local Court.
Indictment:
It is a formal written accusation charging you are not an offence that is certainly should have been tried within a higher court.
Jurisdiction:
This is actually the extent of legal authority/power in the Court to make use of what the law states. By way of example, australia wide the government Court has jurisdiction under a lot more than 150 Acts in the Commonwealth Parliament.
Mediation:
It is a process whereby a neutral third party, referred to as the mediator, assists in causing a compromise or agreed settlement without requiring your decision of a Court.
Plaintiff:
This is actually the term used to refer to the person or party who initiates a civil action. Quite simply, this is the person or party who brings an incident contrary to the defendant, and seeks punishment for that person or people who committed the crime.
Plea:
This is how the accused person (the defendant) tells a legal court whether they are guilty or otherwise not accountable for the charge against them. If your accused pleads guilty, an effort won’t take place as well as the case proceeds with a sentencing hearing, which determines the punishment for that crime.
Subpoena:
A subpoena compels each side an individual in a trial in order to testify and/or produce documents. It is a court order, of course, if it can be disobeyed, the disobedient person could possibly be in contempt of court.
Voir Dire:
It is a legal argument regarding the admissibility of a certain bit of evidence in the court. If this argument should happen, the witness as well as the jury are mailed of court until it finishes.
When you have any queries regarding a criminal charge in Brisbane, please don’t hesitate to call us. At Guest Lawyers, we specialize in criminal law and will be happy that will help you with any queries or concerns. Goal to supply honest, respectful and easy to be aware of legal advice in order to slow up the stress related to your litigation.
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