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LCR4805
Selected Private and Criminal Law Principles
of the Internet
ASSIGNMENT 1 MEMO
SEMESTER 2 - 2022
Unique number: - DUE: 31 AUGUST 2022
DOCUMENT PREVIEW
Includes Footnotes and/or Bibliography
Gloria is stopped by traffic officers at a roadblock. One traffic officer tries to solicit a bribe from
Gloria. She refuses, and as a result the traffic officer gives Gloria a stiff penalty for something
insignificant. Gloria’s friend Kate, who is sitting in the passenger seat, captures the entire incident
on video with her cell phone. Gloria lays a charge of corruption at the local police station.
Can this cell phone video recording be used as evidence in a court of law? Discuss in detail. [30]
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, LCR4805 ASSIGNMENT 1
QUESTION
Assessment 1
302230
Gloria is stopped by traffic officers at a roadblock. One traffic officer tries to solicit a
bribe from Gloria. She refuses, and as a result the traffic officer gives Gloria a stiff
penalty for something insignificant. Gloria’s friend Kate, who is sitting in the passenger
seat, captures the entire incident on video with her cell phone. Gloria lays a charge of
corruption at the local police station.
Can this cell phone video recording be used as evidence in a court of law? Discuss in
detail. [30]
Schmidt1 was the first to argue that the products of modern technology should not be forced
into the limited categories of either real or documentary evidence. To support his argument, he
pointed out that the existing rules in respect of discovery, reliability and authenticity were
originally based on paper documentation, but have occasionally been extended by additions
to cater for photography, cinematography, magnetic audio and video tapes, and the computer.
Zeffert2 argue that videotapes should be treated as documentary evidence. This was also the
view of the court in S v Ramgobin3. Other cases have, however, preferred the argument that
videotapes should be regarded as real evidence (S v Mpumlo4, S v Baleka5, S v Nieuwoudt6).
Photographs may constitute either real or documentary evidence. A photograph will be real
evidence when the physical photograph itself is central to the case, for example,
- it has fingerprints on the surface, or
- it is a very rare historical photograph which was stolen from a museum, or
1 Schmidt & Rademeyer Law of Evidence (2014).
2 Zeffertt & Paizes The South African Law of Evidence 2 ed (2009).
3 S v Ramgobin and Others 1986 (4) SA 117 (N) 146.
4 S v Mpumlo and Others 1986 (3) SA 485 (E).
5 S v Baleka and Others (3) 1986 (4) SA 1005 (T) 1021D.
6 S v Nieuwoudt (4) 1985 (4) SA 519 (C) 522B.
