Who must tell a family violence offender of the right to refuse adverse statements, and at what point in the proceedings?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file for a family protection case, the papers to read are the record of the investigation or hearing before the judge or the family protection case investigator, any written statement the family violence offender made, and any note showing that the right to refuse adverse statements was explained before questioning began.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading takes the duty as written: when a judge or a family protection case investigator investigates a family protection case, that person must, in advance, tell the family violence offender that adverse statements may be refused, so the notice comes before any questioning rather than after.
Another reading notes what the provision leaves open: it sets no form for the notice, no place in the record where the notice must appear, and no consequence if the notice is omitted, so a file may show a full investigation without showing that the notice was ever given.
Your judgment
If the investigation record carries no note of the notice, how could a file show whether the offender was told of the right before making any statement?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to fix the form of the notice or a consequence for omitting it, or if a court decision addresses what follows from a statement taken without the notice.