The law of evidence in Canada.

1590 Pages·2014·15.958 MB·English

by  Sidney N. Lederman

T L E
he aw of vidence
C
in anada
Fourth Edition
T L E
he aw of vidence
C
in anada
Fourth Edition
Sidney N. Lederman • Alan W. Bryant
Superior Court of Justice Superior Court of Justice
for Ontario for Ontario
Michelle K. Fuerst
Superior Court of Justice
for Ontario
Sopinka, Lederman & Bry ant: The Law of Evidence in Canada, Fourth Edition
© LexisNexis Canada Inc. 2014
July 2014
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Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Bryant, Alan W., 1943-
Sopinka, Lederman & Bryant: the law of evidence in Canada / Alan W.
Bryant, Sidney N. Lederman, Michelle K. Fuerst. — 4th ed.
Previous eds. published under title: The law of evidence in Canada / John
Sopinka, Sidney N. Lederman, Alan W. Bryant
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-433-47460-9 (bound)
ISBN 978-0-433-47462-3 (pbk.)
1. Evidence (Law)—Canada. I. Lederman, Sidney N., 1943- II. Fuerst, Michelle K. III. So­
pinka, John, 1933-1997. Law of evidence in Canada. IV. Title.
V. Title: Sopinka, Lederman and Bryant.
KE8440.B79 2009 347.71 ’06 C2009-902714-3
KF8935.ZA2B79 2009
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To my grandchildren, Misha, Jesse, Pascale and Alex
SNL
To Sally
AWB
To my parents, Katherine and Clarence Fuerst
MKF

-I
© Larry Munn Photography 1998. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission.
John Sopinka
1933-1997
To the memory of our colleague and friend, John Sopinka, who embodied
excellence in the law as a judge, counsel, teacher and scholar.

PREFACE
The “Principled Approach” and “Charter Values”, adopted by the Supreme
Court of Canada, have infused virtually every facet of Evidence Law, as we
continue to move away from a Rules-based system to one that is rooted in
principle.
The word “Rules” itself connotes strict adherence and arbitrary application. In
many circumstances, such slavish following of Rules has led to the exclusion of
much reliable evidence and, conversely, the admission of unreliable and
prejudicial evidence. This has resulted in injustices, wrongful convictions and
unjust acquittals alike. A better understanding and proper application of
principles should do much to avoid such consequences.
This edition of The Law of Evidence in Canada tracks these developments and,
we hope, contributes to a greater appreciation of these principles.
We extend our thanks once again to Lee Seshagiri for his re-working of Chapter
18: Documentary Evidence, to take into account the prevalent use of electronic
information and social network evidence.
Helen Incognito’s clerical assistance in the preparation of text and footnote
revision for some of the chapters is acknowledged and appreciated.
Finally, we are most grateful for the efforts of Sheila Nemet-Brown of
LexisNexis in updating several chapters and, in her tactful way, keeping us on
course for a timely completion of this edition.