The Rules of Evidence

The Rules of Evidence

Think about the following three scenarios:

• On the witness stand, Melanie testified that she had heard Ashley say that Mr. Theriault had been spotted suspiciously hanging around the neighbourhood where the murder occurred.

• On the witness stand, Mrs. Aboud was asked by the Crown prosecutor to reveal precisely what her husband - the accused - had told her about his involvement in the crime.

• Ewan, who had not been informed of his right to counsel when he was arrested, was questioned for three hours by the police. Finally, exhausted and frightened, he confessed to the crime; later, Ewan's confession was presented in evidence at his trial.
  
  
  

Would the evidence outlined in the preceding scenarios be admitted in a Canadian court of law? The answer is that it is highly unlikely; though judges do have some discretion in the matter of a confession. The fact is that the rules about what evidence is and is not admissible in Canadian criminal courts are precise and sometimes rather complex.