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LEV3701 law of evidence

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Philosophy

Subject
Chemistry

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Study Notes

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5

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QUESTION 1 Where accused persons are tried jointly, they are referred to as “co-accused”. Co-accused as a defence witness: X may testify in defence of Y and vice versa. X may not be compelled to testify in defence of Y because X is also an accused. Co-accused as a prosecution witness: A co-accused is not a competent witness for the state, because he is also an accused. The question of compellability does not even arise where the witness is not competent to testify. There may, however, be circumstances where the state may call someone who had previously been a co-accused, to testify. This happens when the person is no longer a co-accused in that case. This can happen in one of the four following ways: