Federation of Law Societies of Canada National Committee on Accreditation. Syllabus. Evidence. (Revised February 2015)

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1 Syllabus Evidence (Revised February 2015) Candidates are advised that the syllabus may be updated from time-to-time without prior notice. Candidates are responsible for obtaining the most current syllabus available. World Exchange Plaza O'Connor Street Ottawa Ontario K1P 1A4 Tel: Fax:

2 Evidence Law EXAMINATION: The function of this exam is to determine whether applicants have an understanding and knowledge of Canadian evidence law equivalent to that of graduates of Canadian common law programs. To pass the examination, candidates are expected to identify the relevant issues, select and identify the material rules of law as understood in Canada, and explain how the law applies on each of the relevant issues, given the facts presented. Those who fail to identify key issues, or who demonstrate confusion on core legal concepts, or who merely list the issues and describe legal rules without demonstrating how those rules apply given the facts of the case will not succeed. MATERIALS: The readings referred to in this syllabus as T can be found in David M. Paciocco and Lee Stuesser, The Law of Evidence, 7th ed. (Toronto: Irwin Law, 2015). The readings referred to in this syllabus as CB can be found in Hamish Stewart et al., Evidence: A Canadian Casebook, 3d ed. (Toronto: Emond Montgomery, 2012). The reading list starts on the next page. 2

3 READING LIST I. Introduction T: Chapters 1 & 13; CB: 3-17 II. Methods of Adducing Evidence A. Viva voce examination i. Competence and compellability T: ; CB: 21-44; ii. Manner of questioning T: ; ; CB: iii. Corroboration T: ; CB: B. Formal admissions T: ; CB: C. Real evidence T: D. Judicial notice T: ; CB: III. Admissibility ß A. Relevance, materiality & discretion T: 27-47; CB: (stop reading before (d) ) B. Hearsay i. The rule T: Chapter 4; CB: , , ; ii. The exceptions 1. Categorical exceptions a. Prior identifications T: b. Prior testimony T: ; CB: c. Prior convictions T: d. Party admissions T: , e. Statements against interest T: ; CB: f. Dying declarations T: g. Declarations in course of duty T: ; CB: h. Res gestae T: ; CB: ,

4 C. Character 2. Principled exception a. Generally T: ; CB: , b. Prior inconsistent statements T: ; i. Generally T: 53-55; CB: ii. Accused s bad character T: 56-90; CB: iii. Accused s good character & Crown rebuttal T: 90-98; CB: iv. Character evidence called by accused T: ; CB: about others v. Character in civil cases T: ; CB: D. Opinion & expert evidence i. Introduction T: ii. Exceptions 1. Lay witnesses T: ; CB: Ultimate issue T: Expert witnesses T: ; CB: ; E. Improperly-obtained evidence i. Introduction T: ii. The confession rule T: , ; CB: iii. The Mr. Big rule T: iv. Statements of young persons T: v. General discretion to exclude T: vi. Undercover/detained statements T: vii. Statutorily compelled statements T: viii. Section 24 of the Charter T: ; CB: ,

5 ix. Unfairly-obtained evidence T: x. Civil cases T: F. Self-incrimination i. Introduction T: ii. Witnesses T: ; CB: ; iii. Accused T: ; CB: 63-76; G. Privilege T: Chapter 7; CB: ; IV. Credibility A. Discrediting witnesses i. Generally CB: ; ii. Opposing witnesses 1. Collateral facts T: ; CB: Prior convictions T: ; CB: Prior inconsistent statements T: iii. Your own witness 1. Generally T: Cross-examination T: B. Bolstering witnesses i. Generally T: ii. Accused as witness T: iii. Expert evidence relevant to credibility T: 526; CB: iv. Prior consistent statements T: ; CB: v. Rehabilitation T:

6 Canadian Publishers Carswell (Thomson Reuters) Corporate Plaza 2075 Kennedy Road Scarborough, ON M1T 3V4 URL: Tel: or Fax: Irwin Law Inc. 14 Duncan St. Toronto, ON M5H 3G8 Tel: (Canada & U.S.) or URL: Emond Montgomery 60 Shaftesbury Ave. Toronto, ON M4T 1A3 Lexis Nexis Canada Inc. (For printed material only and not for access to Quicklaw) Canada Law Books 240 Edward St. Toronto, ON L4G 3S9 Tel: Fax: URL: Contact: Donna Hurley Tel: or ext. 823 Fax: or URL: Tel: (Canada & U.S.) or URL: Online Resources The majority of case law and legislative resources needed by NCA students are available on CanLII, the free legal information resource funded by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada ( ). That includes all decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada, and all federal, provincial, territorial and appellate courts. Your registration fee also includes free access to the Quicklaw resources of Lexus Nexis. Access requires a unique User ID and password, which will be ed to you once you have completed registration for NCA exams ( ). The first time you sign in to Quicklaw you will be asked to change or personalize your password. Remember your User ID and password are personal, and should not be shared with anyone. If you forget or lose your password to Quicklaw, you may retrieve it by clicking on the Forget Password? link on the Quicklaw sign-in page, or by contacting their customer support at ( service@lexisnexis.ca ), or by calling