A person who is charged with criminal offences in South Australia may contest the charge by advancing a legal defence or a factual defence. A legal defence, such as duress or self defence, exists where the accused admits committed the physical act but claims that they had a justification or excuse. A factual defence, such as an alibi, exists where the accused denies committing the physical acts alleged. An accused person has an alibi if they have evidence that they were not at the location where the offence is alleged to have occurred at the time it is said to have occurred. This page deals with alibis in South Australia.
How do alibis work?
An alibi exists if the accused has evidence that they were in a particular place when the offence is alleged to have occurred and so could not have, or would have been very unlikely to have, committed the offence.
If the defence raises an alibi in a criminal trial, the prosecution must prove that the accused was at the scene of the crime and therefore, that the alibi is false.
Burden of proof when relying on alibis
If the defence relies on an alibi, the accused does not have to prove that they were not at the scene of the crime. The prosecution bears the burden of proving that the accused was at the scene of the crime.
This is known as the burden of proof.
The burden of proof falls on the prosecution when an alibi is raised because the accused has a presumption of innocence.
Requirement to give notice of alibis
Under section 124 of the Criminal Procedure Act 1921, when an accused intends to rely on an alibi during a criminal trial in the District Court or Supreme Court, they must provide the particulars of the alibi to the prosecution.
The defence must give notice of an alibi at the same time that its case statement is filed. However, if the evidence that supports the alibi has already been heard at the committal hearing, there is no requirement to provide notice of the alibi.
Failure to give notice of an alibi
If the accused raises an alibi in one of the higher courts without having given notice of the alibi, the evidence may be disallowed, or the matter may be adjourned to give the prosecution tome to explore the alibi.
If the defence calls a witness in support of an alibi and the witness’s details have not been provided to the prosecution, the court may disallow the evidence. If this occurs, the court will consider whether the defence was aware of the witness’s details at an earlier stage of the proceedings and whether they made attempts to obtain the witness’s details and provide them to the prosecution.
Magistrates Court matters
If a person intends to rely on an alibi in a matter that is to be heard in the Magistrates Court or in the Youth Court, there is no formal requirement to provide notice of the alibi to the prosecution. However, there is generally an expectation that the defence will do so anyway as a matter of professional courtesy.
Dates are of utmost importance
When a person relies on an alibi, it is of the utmost importance that the accused and any witnesses the defence calls are absolutely certain of the date and time that events happened. To prove the accused guilty, the prosecution needs to establish that the alleged acts occurred at exactly the time and date and location stated in the charge.
In some contested criminal matters, a defendant may be found guilty even if the date specified on the charge is different to the date that the witnesses say that events occurred, provided both parties agree about the surrounding circumstances. However, when an alibi is being relied on, the prosecution must prove that the offence occurred at the time and place alleged. This must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt as a matter of fairness to the accused.
If you require legal advice or representation in any legal matter, please contact Taylor Rose.
