Cross-examination and remote access technologies: a changing calculus?
Access status:
Open Access
Type
ArticleAuthor/s
McKay, CarolynAbstract
Ever since audio and audiovisual link (AVL) technologies were first introduced into Australian courtrooms in the 1990s, the courts have had broad discretionary powers regarding directions for taking evidence by AVL. In exercising such discretion, the courts have had to contend with ...
See moreEver since audio and audiovisual link (AVL) technologies were first introduced into Australian courtrooms in the 1990s, the courts have had broad discretionary powers regarding directions for taking evidence by AVL. In exercising such discretion, the courts have had to contend with balancing the efficiencies afforded by witnesses appearing remotely with other considerations such as fairness and the loss of traditional forensic benefits, which is said to accompany in- person cross-examination. These forensic benefits are often described in terms of a chemistry, solemnity, formality, or some other intangible atmospheric of the live, co-present courtroom environment. Of course, what has transpired since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has profoundly challenged these courtroom balancing acts.
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See moreEver since audio and audiovisual link (AVL) technologies were first introduced into Australian courtrooms in the 1990s, the courts have had broad discretionary powers regarding directions for taking evidence by AVL. In exercising such discretion, the courts have had to contend with balancing the efficiencies afforded by witnesses appearing remotely with other considerations such as fairness and the loss of traditional forensic benefits, which is said to accompany in- person cross-examination. These forensic benefits are often described in terms of a chemistry, solemnity, formality, or some other intangible atmospheric of the live, co-present courtroom environment. Of course, what has transpired since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has profoundly challenged these courtroom balancing acts.
See less
Date
2022Source title
Bar News: The Journal of the NSW Bar AssociationPublisher
New South Wales Bar AssociationFunding information
ARC DE210100586Licence
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0Rights statement
This article was published in the 2022 Autumn edition of Bar News: The Journal of the NSW Bar AssociationFaculty/School
The University of Sydney Law SchoolShare