POLI 343 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Common Law Offence, Inquisitorial System, Jury Trial
1 Feb 2017
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In charge of interpreting the rules: rules of evidence: what kind of evidence can be included and excluded. Contempt of court: summary conviction offence because it is something that can be proclaimed, and the individual is immediately convicted. Contempt of court is a common law offence, it is not contained in legislation, but rather is a product of court decision(s). Person is offered a chance to apologize to the court; if they refuse, they are taken to remand until they apologize for their offence. Outside of the court, judges have a limited capacity to engage in public life. They always have to maintain the appearance and reality of their impartiality, independence and free of conflicts of interests. Therefore, their public life is highly circumscribed: they do not sit in dominant positions in public or private institutions, expected not to contest any regulatory citations they might receive, e. g. traffic tickets, removal from the bench.
