The government has introduced its new Evidence Bill - which among other things will allow wider us of hearsay evidence, narrow the privilege against self-incrimination, and change the rules regarding improperly obtained evidence. It is (of course) a product of Phil Goff.
Unfortunately it's not on the web yet, but I'll probably do my nut about it when it hits Knowledge Basket.
It is good to be concerned about civil liberties--but at the same time I wouldn't get too misty eyed about the current law of evidence. Much like the jury system it evolved to be a good enough way of processing disputes and managing adjudication of crime but that doesn't mean its ideal. Really its riddled with arcane technical requirements that there is no way in hell are scrupulously adhered to in practice. eg. if you are a juror told to disregard something you just heard because its hearsay can you really just blank out what you heard? The idea that that is likely to happen in every case is a "legal fiction". We pretend its true because the system basically works and justice is more or less seen to be done.
ReplyDeleteTrial by ordeal used to work suprisingly well too...
You do the best you can, and try to be fair. The rule against hearsay isn't there to make things difficult for jurors - it's there to make sure that the police actually prove their case. Allowing it will result in people being convicted on the opinions of others, rather than on the facts. I simply don't think that's safe.
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