When committal evidence of a deceased witness is tendered under s 65(3) of the Evidence Act 2008 (Vic), the inability to cross-examine at trial and the jury's inability to see the witness cannot alone constitute unfair prejudice sufficient to exclude the evidence under s 137; these matters are remediable by appropriate judicial directions. Evidence given through an interpreter is not second-hand hearsay, but the Crown must call the interpreter to prove faithful interpretation. The question of whether appellate review of s 137 exclusion decisions follows the House v The King standard or a de novo standard was expressly left open.
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