There are laws in Victoria that protect your right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty. This means that the onus is on the prosecution to prove you guilty, with everyone bound by law to presume you innocent until that time should arise. This presumption is set out under the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic).

This presumption of innocence only applies to the accused, and does not apply to witnesses. Accused people, for the most part, do not need to prove their innocence – in theory. Obviously having good legal representation means the prosecution are questioned regarding their argument. If you are in need of legal representation, call lawyer Vanessa Ash.

The defence also presents its case, and the prosecution must again disprove it. What this means in real life is that the prosecution must prove that the accused’s actions were not:

• Accidental
• Involuntary due to mental impairment or illness (sane automatism)
• The result of duress
• Done while intoxicated
• Provoked
• Committed in self-defence
• Done in an honest and reasonable belief in the existence of a state of affairs, which had it existed, would have made the acts innocent

There are some special circumstances where these rules don’t apply, which is why good legal representation is essential.

See Beyond reasonable doubt and what that means for more information.

Write your own story. Call Vanessa Ash and Associates today.