NCJ Number
183921
Date Published
1999
Length
406 pages
Annotation
This book intends to simplify and clarify the main rules and principles of Canada's law of evidence, primarily for the benefit of the law student; for the practitioner, the book provides a catalog of the authority that is most often needed to conduct trials or hearings.
Abstract
The general concepts of the law of evidence are introduced in Chapter 1, and Chapters 2 through 9 deal with the rules of admissibility. The methods of presenting evidence are discussed in Chapter 10. Chapter 12 deals with rules that relate to the use that the trier of fact can make of admissible evidence. The conclusions, which are found in Chapter 13, provide a general thematic discussion of the forces that have moved the law of evidence and that will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. The rules of admissibility are organized according to two criteria. First, a distinction is drawn between those rules that relate to the admission of evidence about the factual event at issue and those that deal with the admission of evidence that is about other evidence in the case. The law of evidence has taken a more restrictive approach to the admission of this kind of proof than it has with proof relating directly to the event at issue. This topic is addressed in both Chapters 10 and 11. The second criterion used in organizing the admissibility discussion was to order the chapters generally according to the main purpose for which relevant and material information might be excluded. Chapters 3 (Character Evidence), 4 (Hearsay Evidence), 5 (Hearsay Exceptions), and 6 (Opinion Evidence) describe cases in which admissibility is restricted mainly to improve the quality of fact-finding. Chapters 7 (Privilege), 8 (Self-Incrimination), and 9 (Improperly Obtained Evidence) describe exclusionary rules that are concerned less with the accuracy of the evidence than with the pursuit of policies and principles considered to be more important than the accurate determination of facts. Table of Canadian evidence acts, table of cases, and a subject index