At your criminal trial

You may request for an ancillary hearing if you object to the admissibility ⁽¹⁾ of any oral or written statement you made, or any other evidence the prosecution intends to use against you. An ancillary hearing is a separate hearing conducted to determine if a statement you gave in the past or evidence produced by the prosecution is admissible.

As a general rule, a statement is admissible ⁽²⁾ if you gave your statement:

• To a police officer with the rank of sergeant and above.
• Without threat by a person of authority to avoid something bad in relation to the offences you are charged with.
• Without inducement or promise by a person of authority to gain any advantage.
• Without being under oppressive circumstances such as the denial of food, drink or medication until your free will is sapped.

What to do in an ancillary hearing

During the ancillary hearing, the court is concerned about the voluntariness of your statement. You should therefore only concentrate on giving evidence on the following points:

• How your statement was recorded.
• What happened when your statement was recorded.
• Why it affected you to the extent that you gave your statement involuntarily.

At the end of the ancillary hearing, the judge will decide whether the statement should be admitted as evidence. If the judge decides that the statement should not be admitted, it will be disregarded by the court in determining your guilt during the main trial.