LEV3701 Assignment 2 (QUALITY ANSWERS) Semester 1 2024

This document contains workings, explanations and solutions to the LEV3701 Assignment 2 (QUALITY ANSWERS) Semester 1 2024. For assistance call or us on 0.6.8..8.1.2..0.9.3.4........ QUESTION 1 Consider the following statements about circumstantial evidence and choose the correct option: 1. Circumstantial evidence is not necessarily weaker than direct evidence and the cumulative effect of several pieces of circumstantial evidence might even carry more weight than direct evidence. 2. The following rules apply to inferences drawn from circumstantial evidence in a civil case: the inference sought to be drawn must be consistent with all the proven facts and must be the only reasonable inference. 3. The following rules apply to inferences drawn from circumstantial evidence in a criminal case: the inference sought to be drawn must be consistent with all the proven facts and must be the most probable inference. 4. Direct evidence will always carry more weight than circumstantial evidence. QUESTION 2 Consider the following statements about admissions and confessions and choose the correct option: 1. Evidence presented during a trial-withinra trial will only be allowed in the main trial if it directly relates to the facts in issue in the main trial, 2. A statement that was made without prejudice and in good faith can be disclosed if it constitutes an act of insolvency. 3. Since an admission amounts to a statement adverse to the person making It, no person can ever make an “admission” which will be held against another person. 4. The content of a confession that was voluntarily made, but that is inadmissible because some other requirement for admissibility was not met, may still be admissible if it is relevant and contains an admission. QUESTION 3 The accused is forced to point out the weapon that he used to kill his wife. Evidence about his act of pointing out the gun will be ... 1. inadmissible in terms of section 218(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977. 2. inadmissible in terms of section 218(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977. 3. admissible in terms of section 218(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977. 4. admissible in terms of section 218(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977. QUESTION 4 The issue is whether defendant drove negligently, a witness states: “I observed an incident from my office window. The defendant's car was proceeding from west to east. I could see that he was in a hurry and was prepared to weave through the traffic, despite the presence of pedestrians. | had a feeling that an accident would take place, and when it happened, i also had no doubt about who was responsible. It was the defendant.” Consider the following statement and choose the correct option 1. The witness's opinion about a fact in issue is in principle inadmissible because it is irrelevant 2. The witness's opinion about a fact in issue is admissible because he observed such a fact. 3. The witness's opinion about a fact in issue is in principle inadmissible only if it is about a primary issue in dispute. 4. The witness's opinion about a fact in issue is in principle admissible if it is about a secondary issue in dispute. QUESTION 5 An elderly woman is found dead in her apartment. The bloody scene leaves no doubt that she was murdered. Various pieces of evidential material are found at the scene of the crime. This includes fingerprints. The fingerprints will be classified as ... 1. evidence of uncertain classification. 2. expert evidence. 3. real evidence. 4. documentary evidence. QUESTION 6 A bank is robbed and afterwards the police find certain metal boxes containing money in a ditch. The boxes are identified as those that were taken from the bank. A few days later the accused is taken into custody. He confesses that he took part in the robbery, but the confession does not comply with the requirements of section 217 of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977. Consequently, upon his confession the accused takes the police to the ditch where the containers were found and says to them that this is the place where the money was hidden. 1. Because the pointing out forms part of the inadmissible confession it can never be admissible evidence 2. Because the accused followed up the Inadmissible confession with a pointing out of the place where the containers had been left. the inadmissible confession now becomes admissible. 3. The pointing out of the containers amounts to an admission and will be admissible if there was no coercion on the part of the police 4. Section 35(5) of the Constitution of 1996 is irrelevant in this situation QUESTION 7 Two accused are charged with dealing in cocaine Accused A testifies that he received a packet with unknown contents from accused B to keep for accused B He states that he had no knowledge of the contents of the packet and thus places the blame squarely on accused 8 The prosecution now wants to question accused A about two previous convictions for possession of and dealing on cocaine Such questioning by the prosecution 1. will be inadmissible in terms of section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 2. will be admissible in terms of section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 3. will be admissible in terms of section 2S2 of the Criminal Procedure Act SI of 1977 4. will be inadmissible in terms of section 211 of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 QUESTION 8 A 14-year-old complainant was raped by two young men, At the time of the rape she did not report the matter to her parents or lay charges, but briefly told Vanessa, a friend, about the incident. Nineteen years later the complainant accidentally met one of her assailants. These revived memories of her ordeal and prompted her to lay charges against the men who raped her. The complainant testifies during the case. Consider the following statements and choose the correct option: 1. Because the case is of a sexual nature, the court must approach the complainant's evidence with caution. 2. Vanessa's evidence is admissible hearsay evidence. 3. Vanessa's evidence is evidence about a previous consistent statement. 4. Vanessa's evidence is inadmissible hearsay evidence. QUESTION 9 Y is accused of the theft of a shotgun The gun had belonged to a person who had meanwhile died At his trial, Y pleads not guilty and according to his explanation of plea the reason for his possession of the gun is that the accused had given it to him The state now calls the deceased's brother The brother says. 'My late brother wrote to me from his sickbed that Y would be keeping his gun for turn He said he was too sick to fetch the gun himself and asked me to do it Y, however. refused to grve it back. I hand in the letter' Consider the following statements and choose the correct option 1. Evidence of the letter will probably be inadmissible hearsay 2. Evidence of the letter will only be opinion evidence about what the late brother implied 3. Evidence of the letter will probably be admissible hearsay 4. Evidence of the letter will only be circumstantial evidence. QUESTION 10 A copy of a typed contract stands to be admitted in court The contract will 1. constitute documentary evidence where it is admitted for the purpose of proving the existence of the written contract in circumstances where one of the parties denies that a written contract was ever created 2. constitute documentary evidence where it is admitted to establish the terms of the contract 3. constitute circumstantial evidence where it is admitted for the purpose of proving the existence of the written contract in circumstances where one of the parties denies that a written contract was ever created 4. constitute real evidence where it is admitted to establish the terms of the contract. QUESTION 11 Consider the following statements and choose the correct option 1. According to Magmoed v Janse van Rensburg 1993 (1) SACR 67 (A), a witness must be informed about his or her privilege against self incrimination on unless, based on the facts of the case, he or she could be expected to be aware of this privilege 2. A witness on a criminal case may refuse to answer a question for the reason that the answer may bring about civil liability on his part 3. For obvious reasons, private privilege only exists during the trial and not also during all pre-trial procedures 4. Privileged evidence is excluded because it is irrelevant QUESTION 12 A and B partakes in a cash in-transit on the N1-highway and manage to get away. After Illegally monitoring A's private conversations, the police raid his house. Upon entering As house, the police inform A that they intend to use him as a witness against B and that they do not therefore intend to prosecute him. A consequently makes a statement that fully implicates him in the crime and that leads the police to some of the stolen money in the ceiling of A's house, as wes pointed out by A. Notwithstanding their previous undertaking, the police decide to charge A. Consider the following statements and choose the correct option: 1. As statement is an inadmissible confession. 2. A's statement is an admissible confession. 3. As set of pointing out the money ts an admissible informal admission 4. As statement is an inadmissible admission. QUESTION 13 Consider the following statements about admissions and confessions and choose the correct option: 1. A formal admission does not place the fact admitted beyond dispute. It can be made in the pleadings or during the trial. Since that does not place the admitted fact beyond dispute, further evidence needs to be adduced about 2. A trial within a trial is normally held to determine the competence and compellability of a witness. 3. In terms of section 217(3) of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977, the prosecution may prove an otherwise inadmissible confession if the accused adduces evidence of any statement made by hen as part of, or in connection with this confession, and if this evidence is, in the opinion of the judicial officer presiding at the proceedings, unfavourable to that person. 4. if the witness in a civil case tells the court that something was admitted by another person, such evidence will constitute hearsay evidence and the court will therefore have to decide whether it should admit the hearsay evidence in the interest of justice after exercising its judicial discretion in this regard. QUESTION 14 Consider the following statements about the evaluation of evidence and choose the correct option: 1. In criminal cases the state always bears the onus of proof regarding all issues and defences. 2. In both criminal and civil cases, the evidentiary burden is only relevant at the end of a trial. 3. The silence of an accused may affect the evidentiary burden and could therefore cause the accused to be convicted. 4. When evaluating circumstantial evidence, it is important for the court to consider each piece of circumstantial evidence in isolation. QUESTION 15 Consider the following statements about admissions and confessions and choose the correct option 1. A statement is a confession if it was freely and voluntarily made by a person in his sound and sober senses and without having been unduly influenced thereto 2. A statement that is meant to be exculpatory can be an admission if, in the end, it is to the detriment of the maker thereof 3. A confession which was voluntarily made, but which is inadmissible because some other requirement for admissibility was not met, may still be admissible if It is relevant and contains an admission. 4. A subjective test is used to determine whether a statement Is an admission, and an objective test is used to determine whether such a statement was voluntarily made QUESTION 16 Examples of real evidence can include the following things 111 the appearance of a person, (2) tape recordings, (3) fingerprints. (4) documents and (5) blood tests Consider the following options and choose the correct option 1. All the examples can be real evidence 2. Only examples (3) and (5) can be real evidence 3. Only examples (1) and (3) can be real evidence 4. Only examples (4) and (5) can be real evidence QUESTION 17 An accused has been convicted of seriously assaulting the complainant The complainant, unfortunately. later dies of complications because of this assault The accused is therefore charged with murder and the prosecution now wishes to pose questions to the accused about the mentioned previous conviction of assault Such questioning by the prosecution 1. will be admissible on terms of section 241 of the Cnryinal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 2. well be admissible in terms of section 197 of the Crirninal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 3. will be inadmissible in terms of section 211 of the Crvninal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 4. will be inadmissible in terms of section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 QUESTION 18 Mrs B and her father, Mr X, each lays a charge of assault against Mr B. Mrs B's husband. Mrs B alleges that her husband came home from a bar one night and stabbed her with a knife Mr X alleges that his son-in-law also punched him in the face and called him a lazy old bastard. Consider the following statements and choose the correct option. 1. The prosecution can force Mrs B to testify in a case of criminal defamation against her husband. 2. The prosecution can force Mrs B to testify against her husband about the assault on her. 3. The prosecution cannot force Mrs 8 to testify against her husband about the assault on her if they are no longer married_ 4. The prosecution can force Mrs B to testify against her husband about the assault on her father QUESTION 19 In order to obtain a conviction on any of the racketeering offences contained in section 2(1) of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998. the prosecution must prove, as one of the elements of racketeering. that the accused conducted an illegal enterprise 'through a pattern of racketeeRIng activity" To establish this, the state must prove that the accused had previously commented two or more offences contained in Schedule 1 of the mentioned Act Although the general principle is that evidence about previous convictions of the accused is inadmissible. the proof of such convictions would be admissible m terms of 1. section 241 of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 2. section 211 of the Criminal Procedure Act 3. section 217 of the Criminal Procedure Act S1 of 1977 4. section 252 of the Criminal Procedure Act S1 of 1977 QUESTION 20 Consider the following statements about corroboration and the cautionary rules and choose the correct option: 1. The evidence of a co-accused must be approached with caution. 2. Adquestion asked during cross-examination may provide corroborative evidence. 3. Corroboration is required by statute in the case where the accused stands to be convicted on the single evidence of an extra-judicial admission. 4. Evidence that is normally inadmissible, may become admissible if its sole purpose is to corroborate other evidence.