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South Africa Case Law

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Criminal Law [2008] ZAFSHC 53

Motata v Nair No and Another (7023/2008)

Motata v Nair No and Another (7023/2008) [2008] ZAFSHC 53 (11 June 2008)

Court
Free State High Court, Bloemfontein
Case number
7023/2008
Judges
S.P.B. Hancke, J.D. Pickering

The court held that the High Court should be slow to intervene in incomplete criminal proceedings in the Magistrate's Court, except in rare cases where grave injustice would result. In this case, the applicant failed to demonstrate that grave injustice or a failure of justice would ensue if the video and audio recordings were played during the trial-within-a-trial. The authenticity and originality of the recordings are properly matters for determination in the trial-within-a-trial, and the Magistrate is entitled and obliged to listen to the recordings to assess their admissibility. Judicial o…

Source excerpt

  • Admissibility Of Evidence
  • Trial Within Trial
  • Real Evidence
  • Best Evidence Rule
  • Fair Trial Rights
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Criminal Law [2008] ZAGPHC 215

Motata v Nair NO and Another (7023/2008)

Motata v Nair NO and Another (7023/2008) [2008] ZAGPHC 215 (11 June 2008)

Court
High Courts - Gauteng
Case number
7023/2008
Judges
S.P.B. Hancke, J.D. Pickering

The High Court held that it should not intervene in incomplete criminal proceedings except in rare cases of grave injustice, which was not established here. The trial-within-a-trial was properly ordered to test the authenticity and admissibility of the video recordings. The playing of the recordings was necessary for the court to determine their authenticity, and judicial officers are trained to disregard evidence later ruled inadmissible. The analogy to confessions was rejected, as the recordings did not constitute confessions and the issue was not voluntariness but authenticity. The applica…

Source excerpt

  • Admissibility Of Evidence
  • Trial Within Trial
  • Real Evidence
  • Best Evidence Rule
  • Fair Trial Rights
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Criminal Law [2008] ZASCA 51

S v Mthembu (379/07)

S v Mthembu (379/07) [2008] ZASCA 51; [2008] 3 All SA 159 (SCA); [2008] 4 All SA 517 (SCA) ; 2008 (2) SACR 407 (SCA) (10 April 2008)

Court
Supreme Court of Appeal
Case number
379/07
Judges
Cameron, Maya, Cachalia

The Supreme Court of Appeal held that evidence obtained from Ramseroop, the accomplice, through torture—including both his narrative testimony and real evidence (the Hilux and metal box)—was inadmissible under section 35(5) of the Constitution and Article 15 of the CAT. The court found an inextricable link between the torture and the evidence presented, rendering it irredeemably tainted. The exclusionary rule applies not only to accused persons but also to third parties such as accomplices. Without the tainted evidence, the remaining evidence was insufficient to sustain convictions on counts…

Source excerpt

  • Admissibility Of Evidence
  • Torture And Exclusion
  • Constitutional Rights
  • Real Evidence
  • Accomplice Testimony
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About this LexChat collection

South Africa decisions are organised by court, judge, legal area and indexed issue so a practitioner can move from a proposition to a citable authority with the surrounding context intact.

Source links and collection timestamps are retained alongside the indexed records.