An interpreter who has extensively listened to foreign language recordings for translation purposes may give admissible opinion evidence under s 79 of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) that the same voice appears in multiple recordings, where the opinion is based on familiarity with the language's pitch, tone and accent characteristics. Such an interpreter is an 'ad hoc' expert whose specialised knowledge of the foreign language places them in a better position than the jury. The Crown is not obliged to play all foreign language recordings to the jury where no request is made by defence counsel and the evidence is unchallenged.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 1 later case that cites this judgment.