Hi
We are in Victoria and we applicants in a PSIO and the respondent is contesting the hearing.
We are representing ourselves and would like some advice on how the contested hearing process works. I have reviewed the online video giving a mock trial but in that video both parties had legal representation.
So could someone please explain the process in more detail?
I also had specific questions
1. Can the opening statement be long and included our testimony of what occurred and why we believe we meet the legal criteria for a PSIO? We have some strong points about the legal criteria and my concern is that if the opening statement has to be brief then when I'm in the witness box the magistrate may not ask the questions I want asked and therefore, our strong legal arguments won't be shared with the court
2. Are there closing statements? If there are closing statements then I can keep the opening statement brief and give my points of the PSIO but my concern with this is that the points may not have been raised during the proceeding so what I want to say in the closing statement won't be allowed.
3. Can we cross-examine the respondent and their witnesses ourselves?
4. What happens if a witness for the respondent wrote an affidavit but doesn't appear on the day?
5. Can I object to the respondent's lawyers questioning if I don't feel it is relevant or opinion based or hearsay?
6. Generally speaking, are the magistrates open to me asking them questions to clarify processes/procedures if I'm not sure or it is more like 'you don't have a lawyer, bad luck!'
7. Are you allowed to accuse the other side of lying because a lot of their evidence is a lie and doesn't make logical sense either.
8. How does one follow up on perjury charges if the other side is lying and I have evidence of this that comes to light after the hearing? We are in the processing of gathering further evidence but it's unlikely to be available at the day of the hearing.
9. If the other side negotiates 'a deal' and we accept and tell the magistrate this is so, how do we ensure the other side won't walk out of the room and then say the deal is off once we cancel our PSIO application?
Thank you very much in advance.
We are in Victoria and we applicants in a PSIO and the respondent is contesting the hearing.
We are representing ourselves and would like some advice on how the contested hearing process works. I have reviewed the online video giving a mock trial but in that video both parties had legal representation.
So could someone please explain the process in more detail?
I also had specific questions
1. Can the opening statement be long and included our testimony of what occurred and why we believe we meet the legal criteria for a PSIO? We have some strong points about the legal criteria and my concern is that if the opening statement has to be brief then when I'm in the witness box the magistrate may not ask the questions I want asked and therefore, our strong legal arguments won't be shared with the court
2. Are there closing statements? If there are closing statements then I can keep the opening statement brief and give my points of the PSIO but my concern with this is that the points may not have been raised during the proceeding so what I want to say in the closing statement won't be allowed.
3. Can we cross-examine the respondent and their witnesses ourselves?
4. What happens if a witness for the respondent wrote an affidavit but doesn't appear on the day?
5. Can I object to the respondent's lawyers questioning if I don't feel it is relevant or opinion based or hearsay?
6. Generally speaking, are the magistrates open to me asking them questions to clarify processes/procedures if I'm not sure or it is more like 'you don't have a lawyer, bad luck!'
7. Are you allowed to accuse the other side of lying because a lot of their evidence is a lie and doesn't make logical sense either.
8. How does one follow up on perjury charges if the other side is lying and I have evidence of this that comes to light after the hearing? We are in the processing of gathering further evidence but it's unlikely to be available at the day of the hearing.
9. If the other side negotiates 'a deal' and we accept and tell the magistrate this is so, how do we ensure the other side won't walk out of the room and then say the deal is off once we cancel our PSIO application?
Thank you very much in advance.
