The Australian legislation is rife with extremely specialised terminology that a majority of people may have trouble understanding. When you, or someone close to you may be confronted with a criminal charge, it’s vital that you comprehend the legal terminology that’s more likely to show up in legal documents and after a trial. Here we’ve provided a directory of many of the more confusing terms and definitions often utilized in the Australian criminal justice system.


Acquittal:
This term can be used if the magistrate, jury or appeal court discover that an individual is simple from the charges against him/her.
Affidavit:
An itemized declaration made under oath before a notary public or another authorised officer. The person who has written the declaration states that the contents are, to the best their knowledge, true.
Appeal:
To generate an appeal is always to require a case to some higher court in order to challenge a choice produced by a lesser court or tribunal. By way of example, an appeal coming from a decision from the Federal Circuit Court of Australia could possibly be designed to the Federal Court. The one that appeals is termed the ‘appellant’. However, it really is worth noting that does not all decisions can be appealed.
Committal Hearing:
This can be a hearing of all the evidence that props up the charge in the lower court by the magistrate who decides if you find sufficient evidence for the case to venture to trial. In certain committal hearings, there might be witnesses who will be required to provide evidence.
Complainant:
This is actually the term used in the courtroom to consult the victim from the crime committed.
Defendant:
This is actually the term used in the courtroom to consult the one that has charged with an offence. This term is interchangeable with ‘the accused’.
Deposition:
This can be a typed copy from the evidence recorded in the courtroom.
Exhibits:
All evidence (besides evidence supplied by the witnesses) required to present true to the court, such as photographs, clothing, documents or other things that could possibly be tightly related to true.

Indictable Offence:
A significant Brisbane criminal lawyer that’s commonly heard inside a higher court before a judge plus a jury. Less serious indictable offences, referred to as summary offences, are generally heard inside a Local Court.
Indictment:
This can be a formal written accusation charging you are not an offence that’s intended to be tried inside a higher court.
Jurisdiction:
This is actually the extent of legal authority/power from the Court to utilize legislation. By way of example, australia wide the Federal Court has jurisdiction under over 150 Acts from the Commonwealth Parliament.
Mediation:
This can be a process whereby a neutral third party, known as the mediator, assists with contributing to a compromise or agreed settlement without requiring the decision of your Court.
Plaintiff:
This is actually the term used to consult the person or party who initiates a civil action. Quite simply, here is the person or party who brings an instance contrary to the defendant, and seeks punishment for the person or those who committed the crime.
Plea:
This is how the accused person (the defendant) tells the court whether are guilty or otherwise not responsible for the charge against them. If your accused pleads guilty, a shot will not likely take place along with the case proceeds to some sentencing hearing, which determines the punishment for the crime.
Subpoena:
A subpoena compels the look off an individual in a trial in order to testify and/or produce documents. This can be a order from the court, and if it really is disobeyed, the disobedient person might be in contempt of court.
Voir Dire:
This can be a legal argument regarding the admissibility of your certain piece of evidence in the courtroom. If this argument should take place, the witness along with the jury are sent out of court until it finishes.

For those who have inquiries regarding a criminal charge in Brisbane, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Right here at Guest Lawyers, we specialise in criminal law and will be delighted that may help you with inquiries or concerns. The purpose to supply honest, respectful as well as simple to comprehend legal counsel in order to decrease the stress related to your litigation.
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