The Australian judicial system is rife with extremely specialised terminology that a lot of people might have trouble understanding. When you, or someone close to you has been up against a criminal charge, it’s imperative that you view the legal terminology that is prone to come up in legal documents and within a trial. Here we’ve provided a list of a number of the more confusing terms and definitions often utilized in the Australian criminal justice system.
Acquittal:
This term is used in the event the magistrate, jury or appeal court realize that you were innocent with the charges against him/her.
Affidavit:
An itemized declaration made under oath before a notary public or other authorised officer. The individual who has written the declaration claims that the contents are, on the better of their knowledge, true.
Appeal:
To create an appeal would be to require a case to some higher court to be able to challenge a conclusion made by a lesser court or tribunal. For instance, an appeal from your decision with the Federal Circuit Court of Australia could possibly be created to the Federal Court. The individual that appeals is known as the ‘appellant’. However, it can be important to note that all decisions can be appealed.
Committal Hearing:
This is the hearing of all evidence that props up the charge from the lower court by the magistrate who decides if you have sufficient evidence for the case to venture to trial. In most committal hearings, there can be witnesses that are needed to provide evidence.
Complainant:
This is the saying used in the court to refer to the victim with the crime committed.
Defendant:
This is the saying used in the court to refer to the one that will be involved in a criminal offence. This term is interchangeable with ‘the accused’.
Deposition:
This is the typed copy with the evidence recorded in the court.
Exhibits:
All evidence (aside from evidence given by the witnesses) needed to present the case on the court, such as photographs, clothing, documents or other goods that could possibly be tightly related to the case.
Indictable Offence:
A critical Brisbane lawyers that is commonly heard within a higher court before a judge along with a jury. Less serious indictable offences, called summary offences, usually are heard within a Local Court.
Indictment:
This is the formal written accusation charging having it . an offence that is supposed to have been tried within a higher court.
Jurisdiction:
This is the extent of legal authority/power with the Court to utilize regulations. For instance, australia wide the Federal Court has jurisdiction under more than 150 Acts with the Commonwealth Parliament.
Mediation:
This is the process whereby an impartial third party, called the mediator, assists with leading to an agreement or agreed settlement without requiring the decision of your Court.
Plaintiff:
This is the saying used to refer to anybody or party who initiates a civil action. Quite simply, this is the person or party who brings in a situation contrary to the defendant, and seeks punishment for the person or people who committed the crime.
Plea:
This is when the accused person (the defendant) tells legal court whether are guilty or otherwise guilty of the charge against them. If your accused pleads guilty, an effort will not likely occur along with the case proceeds to some sentencing hearing, which determines the punishment for the crime.
Subpoena:
A subpoena compels the appearance of a person with a trial to be able to testify and/or produce documents. This is the court ruling, of course, if it can be disobeyed, the disobedient person could possibly be in contempt of court.
Voir Dire:
This is the legal argument about the admissibility of your certain piece of evidence in the court. In the case that this argument should occur, the witness along with the jury are sent out of court until it finishes.
When you have questions regarding a criminal charge in Brisbane, please don’t hesitate to contact us. At Guest Lawyers, we specialise in criminal law and will be happy to help you with questions or concerns. Our aim is to offer honest, respectful and straightforward to comprehend legal counsel to be able to decrease the stress related to your litigation.
To get more information about Brisbane lawyers take a look at the best web portal: read more
