In McEwan v Commissioner of Taxation [2024] QSC 70, Julie McEwan sought to challenge the Commissioner of Taxation but faced procedural hurdles in the Supreme Court of Queensland. Ms McEwan, self-represented, wished to use 25 additional affidavits, alongside her principal affidavit, as her evidence-in-chief at trial. However, Judge Freeburn refused this request, emphasizing practical case management concerns and the lack of relevance of these additional documents to the issues to be decided at trial. The Judge also highlighted that permitting these documents could create unnecessary disputes and emphasised the importance of evidence being directly relevant to the pleaded issues. Further, Ms McEwan's request for leave to use her submissions from 21 March 2022 as evidence was denied, with an order for costs to be reserved. This case exemplifies the challenges self-represented litigants may face in navigating procedural aspects of legal proceedings and underscores the judiciary's role in maintaining the relevance and efficiency of trials.
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