New South Wales Consolidated Acts

CHILDREN (CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS) ACT 1987 - SECT 31B

31B Evidence in committal proceedings

(1) The Children's Court must give the accused person an opportunity to give evidence in the committal proceedings or to call any witness on the accused person's behalf.

(2) The Children's Court must give an accused person a warning before giving the accused person an opportunity to answer the charge.

(3) An accused person may make full answer and defence. An accused person may give evidence and may examine and cross-examine the witnesses giving evidence for the accused person or for the prosecution, respectively.

(4) The Children's Court may end the examination or cross-examination on any particular matter of any witness giving evidence in the committal proceedings if the Court is satisfied that further examination or cross-examination on the matter will not help the Court to make a determination under subsection (6).

(5) If the accused person is not present, the Children's Court may make a decision under subsection (6) without complying with subsection (3).

(6) The Children's Court must consider all the prosecution evidence given under section 31, Division 3AA or section 31C and any defence evidence and determine whether or not in its opinion, having regard to all the evidence before the Court, there is a reasonable prospect that a reasonable jury, properly instructed, would convict the accused person of an indictable offence.

Note : A matter is not referred for dealing with under this Division until after all prosecution evidence has been taken (see section 31 (2A) and (3)). Section 31AB also requires prosecution evidence to be taken before a child sexual assault offence is referred to be dealt with under this Division.

(7) The Children's Court may not exclude evidence on any of the grounds set out in section 90 (Discretion to exclude admissions) or Part 3.11 (Discretionary and mandatory exclusions) of the Evidence Act 1995 .