Preface

• Author: David M. Paciocco/Lee Stuesser
• Pages: 23-24

PR EFAC E

This book h as been written in an effort to simplify, and record con-

cisely, the main r ules and pri nciples of the law of evidence. It is an at-

tempt to explain the basic concepts of ev idence to the law student. At

the same time, it is an effort to prov ide the pract itioner with a simple

and accessible catalogue of the authority that is most frequently needed

in the conduct of tr ials or hear ings. We are pleased that this work has

been adapted by the National Judicial Institute as the “bench book”

that has been distr ibuted to judges of all courts across Canada to assist

in their evidentia ry rulings.

In an ef fort to simplif y the l aw of evidence, we have chosen to re-

duce t he most important rules into proposition form. These propos-

itions or statements of law can be found italicized t hroughout the text

above the discussions to which they relate. We are aware that there will

occasionally be controversy over the proper statement of rules of law

and that the law of evidence has proven particularly resi stant to efforts

at codif‌ication. We are nonetheless of the view that our efforts at stating

the law in clear terms can be of value to both students and practitioners

by simplifying and focusing the discus sion. Where major controversies

exist, we have attempted to note them. We have also used many ex-

amples in an effort to illustr ate the operation of the rules.

In this f‌ifth e dition, we have adhered to the organizational plan

that we adopted for the f‌irst four editions. The general concepts of the

law of evidence are introduced in chapter 1. The introduction supplies

an opportunity to describe generally the function of the law of evi-

dence, to make observations about the trend in recent authority, and to

present foundational material that should assist in understanding the

discussions contained in the main body of the work.

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