Section 34CB(1) of the Evidence Act 1929 (SA) abolishes only the narrow Longman warning based on forensic disadvantage attributable to the passage of time; it does not abolish the general duty to warn against miscarriage of justice arising from other circumstances, nor the power to comment on facts. Under s 34CB(2), where significant forensic disadvantage from delay is established, the trial judge must give directions that are specific to the circumstances of the particular case, identifying the particular disadvantages suffered by the accused, and must not merely refer to the effects of delay in general terms. After a delay of 24 years, the normal impairment of memory, combined with loss of investigation files and death of potential witnesses, is sufficient to establish significant forensic disadvantage.
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