Who may have the criminal court change the order in which evidence is examined, and may the court do so on its own initiative?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file, we read the list of evidence the prosecution applied to examine, the list the accused or defence counsel applied to examine, any application by a party or the court's own decision to alter the sequence, and the trial record showing the order in which the evidence was in fact examined.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading takes paragraph three at its word: the court may vary the sequence set out above — the evidence applied for by the prosecutor examined first, then that applied for by the accused or defence counsel, and last the evidence the court has itself decided to examine — and it may do so either on its own decision or on an application by the prosecutor, the accused or defence counsel.
Another reading notes what the provision does not address: it names who may seek a change and the sequence the change may be applied to, but sets no condition on when the court may exercise that power and no consequence for evidence already examined before the change.
Your judgment
If evidence was examined out of the order this provision sets, what in the trial record would show which sequence was actually followed?
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 attach conditions to the change or to state what follows for evidence examined before it, or if a court decision construes the court's power under this paragraph.