The “Perfect” Victim: The Reliance on Demeanour Evidence in Child Sexual Abuse Cases
Several factors must be considered when assessing the credibility of a witness or victim during a trial, one of which is their demeanour. Demeanour evidence is behavioural observations made by either the trier of fact or jury during witness testimony. Triers of fact analyze a witness’s demeanour for sincerity and honesty in determining credibility.
R v SS – Hearsay: The Consequence of a Careless Analysis
In R v SS, the admissibility of a young victim’s statement was tested. This blog will balance the decisions of the trial judge and the Ontario Court of Appeal (the “ONCA”) to further understand the principled exception to the hearsay rule and the consequences when it is inadequately applied.
