R. v. Calnen

Parties

Procedural Posture

Criminal / Fourth Voir Dire During Jury Trial (admissibility Hearing for Expert Evidence)

Legal Issues

1. 1 Whether Dr. Marnie Wood should be admitted as the Crown’s expert to give opinion evidence on cause and manner of death, nature of injuries and their significance
2. 2 Whether the proposed opinion is too speculative and unreliable in the absence of an autopsy/body and thus would usurp the jury and be unduly prejudicial

Ratio Decidendi

Dr. Wood's proposed expert opinion was excluded because, on a balance of probabilities, it was speculative and insufficiently reliable given the absence of a body/autopsy and medical history, risked usurping the jury by bearing on the accused's credibility, and the prejudicial effect outweighed any probative benefit under the Mohan preconditions and the court's gatekeeping discretion.

Court Disposition

Excluded: Dr. Marnie Wood not admitted as Crown expert to give opinion evidence on cause and manner of death, nature of injuries or their significance.

Orders

• Exclude Dr. Marnie Wood's expert opinion evidence from being presented to the jury regarding cause and manner of death and the nature and significance of injuries