LEV 3701 Summary Notes

LEV 3701 Law of Evidence- Admissibility of Evidence Study Unit 1 – Overview State whether the following statements are true or false: (1) The Law of Evidence is the name of the field of law that you are currently studying. False (with capitals it refers to the course name) (2) When it is said that ‘‘the court’’ makes a finding, this actually means that the judicial officer presiding in the case (plus assessors where applicable) is making the finding. True (3) Oral evidence refers to evidence given by a witness from the witness box. True (4) If evidence is contained in a document, the party who wants to present this evidence will simply hand the document to the court. False (5) Evidence that is provided by modern technology, such as computers and video tapes, presents the law of evidence with difficulties that have not yet all been resolved. True (6) In the case of judicial notice and presumptions, evidential material is provided without the presentation of evidence. True (7) Decisions on the admissibility of evidence are made during the trial — decisions on the weight of the evidence are made only at the end of the trial. True (although, as you will learn later in this course, the weight of evidence may also impact on its admissibility) (8) The burden of proof plays an important role during the evaluation of evidence at the end of the trial. True (9) It is sometimes necessary for the court to approach certain evidence with caution. True (10) The law of evidence plays an important role in every single court case conducted in our courts. True Study Unit 2 Concepts in the law of evidence Besides evidence, what other forms of evidentiary material are there? Try to give an example of each. Where possible, write down the references to decided cases in which these other kinds of evidentiary material were at issue. (1) Admissions — S v Mjoli 1981 (3) SA 1223 (A) (2) Formal admissions — S v Mokgoledi 1966 (4) SA 335 (A) (3) Judicial notice (4) Presumptions — S v AR Wholesalers 1975 (1) SA 551 (NC) ................................continued