Examination of Witnesses

• Author: Matthew Gourlay/Brock Jones/Jill D. Makepeace/Glen Crisp/Renee Pomerance
• Pages: 303-387

CHAPTER 8

EXAMINATION OF WITNESSES

I. Introduction ..................................................... 

II. Credibility and Reliability ........................................... 

III. Competence and Compellability .................................... 

A. Competence ................................................. 

B. Compellability ................................................ 

IV. Examination-in-Chief ............................................. 

A. Witness Preparation ........................................... 

. Protecting and Respecting the Rights of the Witness ............ 

(A) Language/Communication Concerns...................... 

(B) Observing Cultural or Religious Beliefs and Practices......... 

(C) Publication Bans and Testimonial Aids ..................... 

. Reviewing Material Prior to Testimony ......................... 

. Communicating with Witnesses .............................. 

B. Specific Issues in Examination-in-Chief........................... 

. Excluding Witnesses and Prohibiting Communication ........... 

. Order of Witnesses ......................................... 

. Leading Questions.......................................... 

. Addressing Memory Issues ................................... 

(A) Present Memory Refreshed ............................... 

(B) Past Recollection Recorded .............................. 

(C) Police Officers and the Use of Notes to Refresh Memory . . . . . 

. The Adverse, Hostile, and/or Inconsistent Witness .............. 

(A) Distinguishing Between the Adverse, Hostile, and

InconsistentWitness..................................... 

(B) The Section () Protocol ................................ 

(C) The Section () Protocol: A Proposal ...................... 

(D) Relying on a Prior Inconsistent Statement for Its Truth ....... 

. Addressing Other Discreditable Conduct and Prior Inconsistent

Statements in Chief ......................................... 

. Crown Limits Regarding Who Can and Cannot Be Called ........ 

(A) Calling Witnesses for an Improper Purpose ................. 

(B) Prosecutorial Discretion to Call Certain Witnesses ........... 

303

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C. The Use of Exhibits ............................................ 

. Authentication ............................................. 

. Other Issues ............................................... 

(A) Objections to the Admission of Exhibits .................... 

(B) Continuity of Exhibits .................................... 

. Procedure: Entering an Exhibit as Evidence .................... 

D. Key Considerations ............................................ 

V. Cross-Examination................................................ 

A. Overview..................................................... 

. General Principles .......................................... 

. Preparation ................................................ 

. Form of Questions.......................................... 

. Form of Answers ........................................... 

B. Specific Issues in Cross-Examination ............................. 

. Limits on the Cross-Examination of the Accused by the Crown ... 

(A) Cross-Examination on the Failure of an Accused to Call

CertainEvidence ........................................ 

(B) Cross-Examination of the Accused Alleging the Tailoring

ofEvidence ............................................ 

(C) Cross-Examination Seeking Comment or Explanation

Regarding theTestimonyofOtherWitnesses ............... 

. Cross-Examining the Accused During a Voir Dire ............... 

. Cross-Examining the Accused on Communication with

OtherWitnesses............................................ 

. Cross-Examination of the Accused by a Co-Accused

(Joint Trials)................................................ 

. Use of Other Discreditable Conduct in Cross-Examination ....... 

(A) Cross-Examination of the Accused by the Crown on Other

Discreditable Conduct ................................... 

(B) Cross-Examination of the Non-Accused Witness Regarding

OtherDiscreditable Conduct ............................. 

. Incomplete Cross-Examination Due to Witness

Unresponsiveness .......................................... 

. Cross-Examining the Police.................................. 

(A) Use of Police Notes ..................................... 

(B) Cross-Examining Police on the Manner of Investigation ...... 

. Prohibition on the Use of Prior Findings Made Against a Witness... 

. The Use of Prior Statements or Testimony in Cross-Examination .. 

(A) Prior Inconsistent Statements ............................. 

(B) Prior Testimony and the Right Against Self-Incrimination ..... 

(C) Cross-Examining an Accused on the Absence of Information

Contained in a Police Statement .......................... 

. Rv Lyttle and a Good-Faith Basis for Questions................. 

. The Rule in Browne v Dunn .................................. 

304 MODERN CRIMINAL EVIDENCE

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I. INTRODUCTION

Criminal law lawyers mus t be able to elicit, question, and prope rly scrutinize the evi-

dence of witnesses. These are s kills that can be learned and, de spite the protestations

of those who may wish otherwise, a re not endowed supernaturally upon a sele ct few.

Most counsel already have the patien ce, discipline, and work ethic neede d to succeed

in this arena. They unders tand the value of preparation and org anization as well as the

importance of appreciating th e evidence of a witness in context. However, these traits

mean little if counsel do not also p ossess an in-depth understanding of the law and of

what can and cannot be done to obta in the best evidence from a witness.1

This chapter aims to assist the practiti oner with a review of the rules, practi ces, and

principles to be considered when que stioning witnesses. This i ncludes the need to

understand, from the out set, two core concerns that should inform the examination of

every witness and their ev idence: credibility and reliability.

II. CREDIBILITY AND RELIABILITY

Credibility and reliability are distinct concepts.2 Credibility ha s to do with a witness’s

sincerity, while reliability refers to the accura cy of a witness’s testimony, including their

ability to observe, reca ll, and recount events in issue.3 A witne ss may be credible, but

may nevertheless provide unrel iable evidence.4 These are findi ngs of fact to be made

by the trier of fact. A credibilit y finding by a trial judge, in particular, is entitled to a high

degree of deference on appeal, un less a palpable or overriding error can be shown.5

1 This perspe ctive is shared by many. See e. g. Earl J Levy, Examination of Witnesses, 2nd ed (Toronto: Thom-

son/Carswell , 1991) at 159. Indeed, as Levy n oted (at least as far back as 1991) in the co ntext of cross-

examination: “It h as been said that geniu s is 90 per cent preparation a nd 10 per cent inspiration .” The first

number is argua bly too low.

2 Rv Perrone, 2014 MBCA 74 at paras 25-26, aff ’d 2015 SCC 8, referencing Rv Morrissey, (1995) 22 OR (3d)

514 at 526 (CA); Rv HC,2009 ONC A 56 at para41.

3 Rv Slatter, 2019 ONCA 807 at para 117 (in dis sent) [Slatter 2019], adopted by the Sup reme Court in 2020

SCC 36 [Slatter S CC].

4 HC, supra note 2 at para41, refer encing Morrissey, supra note 2 at 526.

5 Rv Gagnon, 2006 SCC 17 at par a 10; Rv Choli, 2019 SKCA 87 at paras 52-57; Rv J MS, 2020 NSCA 71,

referencing Rv Kiss, 2018 ONCA 184 at par a 83. Where a trial judge appl ies different standar ds in assess-

ing competing ev idence on issues relating to cre dibility, the deference norm ally owed to the credibility

assessment of th e trial judge is genera lly displaced (Kiss, para 83; JMS, para 20 ). See also Rv Cooke, 2020

NSCA 66 at para 10.

. Collateral Facts Rule ........................................ 

. Questioning by the Judge ................................... 

C. Key Considerations ............................................ 

VI. Re-Examination .................................................. 

A. Overview..................................................... 

B. General Principles ............................................. 

Chapter 8 Examination of Witnesses 305

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