Can Counsel try and refresh Karl’s memory on the stand? W cannot simply read the report to the court: Hetherington v Brooks. Court can give leave for W to refer to the report so as to refresh his memory of the events in question (court must determine the issue of leave on voir dire) that the notes were made or verified by karl when the events were ‘fresh in memory’ (question of fact. Upon what factors will this depend??). In this case the notes were made after the assault by another officer. Refreshing memory from jointly prepared memoranda is permitted: O’Sullivan v Waterman but is the lapse of time before Karl signed the notes acceptable? Consider on facts.
Evidence of scene not an out of court statement – Karl is testifying to what he saw. But will evidence of what Tom said be hearsay? Yes, if used to prove that a white ford falcon travelling on the wrong side of the road caused the accident. Are any CL exceptions in SA applicable? Res gestae? Two approaches – strict timing ie Vocisano v Vocisano; Beddingfield and circumstances in which statement made leading to reliability ie Andrews; Walton; Benz. What is the res gestae on these facts? Are their sufficient circumstances to suggest reliability? Events still operating on Tom’s mind when statement made?
