Canada Case Law

R. v. AMB

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

The court granted the Crown's applications: SM shall testify outside the courtroom by reliable CCTV in the presence of a support person and the entirety of SM's January 13, 2020 videotaped police statement is admissible under s.715.1 because all statutory prerequisites were satisfied (SM under 18, tape made within a reasonable time, tape describes the acts, and SM is expected to adopt it) and admission does not interfere with the proper administration of justice or unfairly prejudice the accused given available safeguards and the judge-alone context.

Source excerpt

• Testimonial accommodation
• Videotaped statements
• Admissibility under s.715.1
• S.486.1 and s.486.2 applications
• Cctv testimony
• Support person

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R. v. Bidesi

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court held that a witness’s videotaped police statement was necessary but lacked threshold reliability, so it was excluded for the truth of its contents.

• Hearsay principled exception
• Threshold reliability
• Necessity
• Videotaped statements
• Corroboration
• Vetrovec witness

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R. v. Quash

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Voir dire on admitting videotaped statements of three child complainants in a sexual offence trial. The court admitted the recordings under s. 715.1, subject to targeted excisions.

• Videotaped statements
• Section 715.1 criminal code
• Admissibility
• Hearsay
• Editing/excision of evidence
• Prejudice vs probative value

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R. v. B.T.

Court

Nova Scotia Provincial Court

The police statement of Jerricho Upshaw is admissible as a principled exception to the hearsay rule because necessity is established by his refusal to testify and threshold reliability is satisfied by multiple indicia of trustworthiness: voluntariness, videotaping, and significant corroboration from independent sources (co-accused testimony, witnesses, surveillance/ATM evidence, recovered firearm and forensic analysis, and contemporaneous witness accounts).

Source excerpt

• Hearsay admissibility
• Principled approach (khelawon)
• Voluntariness of statements
• Accomplice evidence
• Videotaped statements
• Cross-examination limits

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R. v. Lennax

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

La Cour suprême de la Colombie-Britannique a déclaré Kyle David Lennax coupable de trois infractions liées à des agressions sexuelles commises sur une enfant dans une garderie.

• Sexual assault
• Touching for sexual purpose
• Inciting to touch
• Child witness testimony
• Videotaped statements
• Publication ban

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R. v. D.M.

Court

Nova Scotia Court of Appeal

The trial judge committed an error of law by treating the videotaped statement as categorically inadmissible under s.715.1 and thereby failing to consider admission of the videotape under the common‑law principled exception; because that error could have affected the verdict the convictions were set aside and a new trial ordered.

Source excerpt

• Hearsay
• Principled exception to hearsay
• Videotaped statements
• Section 715.1 adoption
• Necessity and reliability
• Prosecutorial discretion

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R. v. Trieu

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The Court held the trial judge did not err in admitting Nhan’s videotaped prior inconsistent statement because the statement was videotaped, the declarant was available for full cross-examination and independent corroborative evidence (victim identification and phone records) supplied the necessary reliability substitutes; although there were reservations about S.T.’s statement given the missing KGB-type warning, any error was harmless under s.686(1)(b)(iii) because substantial corroborative evidence (Nhan’s statement, victim evidence, phone records, guilty pleas) supported the convictions, s…

Source excerpt

• Hearsay admissibility
• Prior inconsistent statements
• Kgb warning
• Videotaped statements
• Cross-examination
• Young offenders warnings

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R. v. Wormell

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

British Columbia Court of Appeal dismissed a criminal appeal challenging videotaped child witness interviews, jury directions on credibility, and use of a prior statement.

• Videotaped statements
• Jury directions
• Credibility assessment
• Prior consistent statements
• Similar fact evidence
• Character evidence

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R. v. J.(M.K.)

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Appeal from convictions and sentence dismissed. The court upheld admission of a videotaped prior inconsistent statement under K.G.B. principles and found the sentence not excessive.

• Admissibility of prior inconsistent statements
• Hearsay
• Videotaped statements
• Witness credibility
• Sentencing
• Prior-inconsistent-statements

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R. v. M.A.M.

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The British Columbia Court of Appeal held that the child complainant should not have been allowed to testify on a promise to tell the truth, requiring a new trial.

• Testimonial competence
• Promise to tell the truth
• Videotaped statements
• Admissibility
• Appeal standard
• Corroboration

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