This course is an introduction to the law of evidence. What is evidence? When is evidence admissible? How does it get admitted? In this course, we will learn about the specific rules that apply to many categories of evidence, like hearsay, expert opinions, and privilege. But we will also learn about the general principles that inform the overall structure of our rules of evidence, and the common sense assumptions that underlie them. We will see what happens to the rules when those assumptions are challenged or proven untrue, the role Parliament has played in efforts to reform the rules of evidence, and the balance the court has struck between competing interests in light of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

This course will introduce the law governing the proof of facts in civil and criminal trials in Canadian courts. Upon completion of the course, students should have a broad understanding of the law of evidence in Canada, including its common law, statutory and constitutional elements.  The basic principles regulating the use and admissibility of evidence—including relevance, probative value, prejudice, and judicial discretion—will be examined in detail.  Specific topics covered will include burdens of proof, competency and compellability of witnesses, rules about introducing physical evidence and questioning witnesses, judicial notice, character evidence, hearsay, admissions and confessions, expert evidence and privilege.  Emphasis will be placed on the origins, purposes and justifications of evidence rules and the ways in which they operate in their legal and social context.

This course will examine the basic rules and principles of evidence law in Canada, and the impact of constitutional principles and constraints. The course will also examine some of the philosophical underpinnings on which judges and legislators rely when they develop and apply rules of evidence.  Students will learn how to reason about evidence, and will be encouraged to reflect critically on the modern law of criminal evidence.

This course will provide students with a theoretical and practical understanding of evidence law. After discussing evidence law’s place in the legal system, the course will move on to questions about competence and compellability. This will be followed by a consideration of what makes evidence “relevant” – the threshold requirement for admissibility. The rules governing credibility will be considered, as will the most common exclusionary rules, and the exceptions to them. This will include hearsay evidence (and its most common exceptions, including the principled exception), opinion evidence (and its exceptions, including expert evidence), and character evidence (and its exceptions, including the “similar fact” rule). By the end of the course, students should: • Understand the goals of Evidence Law • Understand the sources of Evidence Law and their interrelationships • Be able to identify and analyze evidentiary problems in fact scenarios and resolve them with reference to prevailing evidentiary rules (common law, statutory and Charter). • Understand the procedural requirements for litigating different evidentiary issues. • Understand, on a practical level, how evidentiary issues are litigated.