The Australian legislation is rife with extremely specialised terminology that a lot of people could have trouble understanding. While you, or someone close to you has been confronted with a criminal charge, it’s crucial that you view the legal terminology that’s prone to surface in legal documents and after a trial. Here we’ve provided a summary of a number of the more confusing terms and definitions often employed in the Australian criminal justice system.


Acquittal:
This term can be used if the magistrate, jury or appeal court see that a person is simple from the charges against him/her.
Affidavit:
An itemized declaration made under oath before a notary public or any other authorised officer. The one who has written the declaration states that the contents are, towards the best their knowledge, true.
Appeal:
To create an appeal is to require a case to some higher court so that you can challenge a decision manufactured by a lesser court or tribunal. For example, an appeal from your decision from the Federal Circuit Court of Australia might be created to the Federal Court. The one who appeals is termed the ‘appellant’. However, it can be important to note that not all decisions might 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 your case to venture to trial. In some committal hearings, there may be witnesses that are necessary to provide evidence.
Complainant:
This can be the term used in the courtroom to refer to the victim from the crime committed.
Defendant:
This can be the term used in the courtroom to refer to the person who will be faced with a criminal 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 (aside from evidence given by the witnesses) necessary to present the truth towards the court, including photographs, clothing, documents or some other items that might be relevant to the truth.

Indictable Offence:
A serious Brisbane lawyers that’s commonly heard within a higher court before the court plus a jury. Less serious indictable offences, known as summary offences, usually are heard within a Local Court.
Indictment:
This can be a formal written accusation charging having it . an offence that’s intended as tried within a higher court.
Jurisdiction:
This can be the extent of legal authority/power from the Court to apply legislation. For example, around australia the Federal Court has jurisdiction under over 150 Acts from the Commonwealth Parliament.
Mediation:
This can be a process whereby an impartial alternative party, referred to as mediator, aids in bringing about an agreement or agreed settlement without requiring your decision of your Court.
Plaintiff:
This can be the term used to refer to anybody or party who initiates a civil action. To put it differently, this is actually the person or party who brings an instance contrary to the defendant, and seeks punishment for your person or those who committed the crime.
Plea:
This is how the accused person (the defendant) tells legal court whether or not they are guilty or otherwise doing the charge against them. If your accused pleads guilty, an endeavor is not going to happen and also the case proceeds to some sentencing hearing, which determines the punishment for your crime.
Subpoena:
A subpoena compels each side somebody with a trial so that you can testify and/or produce documents. This can be a order from the court, of course, if it can be disobeyed, the disobedient person may be in contempt of court.
Voir Dire:
This can be a legal argument about the admissibility of your certain little bit of evidence in the courtroom. In the event that this argument should occur, the witness and also the jury are mailed of court until it finishes.

In case you have any queries regarding a criminal charge in Brisbane, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Only at Guest Lawyers, we concentrate on criminal law and could be more than pleased that will help you with any queries or concerns. The purpose to supply honest, respectful and easy to be aware of legal counsel so that you can reduce the stress related to your litigation.
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