Law · Legal Information · Justice
 

Viva Voce

Latin: by voice. Evidence which is given orally to a Court by a witness' word of mouth (as opposed to in writing, such as by affidavit or deposition).

As Justice Laskin wrote in United States District Court, there are two kinds of evidence:

"... viva voce testimony and ... testimony by way of documentary evidence."

 

In law, evidence and testimony are often used interchangeably as there are two forms of testimony: oral and documentary.

In parliamentary procedure, a viva voce vote also signifies a vote taken by word of mouth as in "all those in favour say 'yea'", as distinguished by a written vote, also known as a ballot.

REFERENCES:

United States District Court, Middle District of Florida v. Royal American Shows Inc. 1982 1 SCR 414 (Supreme Court of Canada)

Latest LagMag headlines:

Law Professor Killed By His Own Justice

Only with nausea can one fathom that Nizar Rayan was a professor of law.

More...

The Drama Of Life, aka Your Local Courthouse

For the voyeurs of everyday life, there is only the courthouse.

More...

Upstart Law School Challenges Old Boys Club

The Internet-based Legal International Evaluation Society, launched its long-awaited online law school on November 27th amidst little fanfare but significant promise.

More...


Read earlier headlines »
Subscribe to stay in touch »


Switch to variable width

Switch to controlled width

Unless otherwise noted, this article was written by Lloyd Duhaime, Barrister, Solicitor, Attorney and Lawyer (and Notary Public!). It is not intended to be legal advice and you would be foolhardy to rely on it in respect to any specific situation you or an acquaintance may be facing. In addition, the law changes rapidly and sometimes with little notice so from time to time, an article may not be up to date. Therefore, this is merely legal information designed to educate the reader. If you have a real situation, this information will serve as a good springboard to get legal advice from a lawyer.

top