The Plan… 17 Oct 2013

1. The Plan… 17 Oct 2013 • Continue on with Chapter 7 • Criminal Law Trial Procedure • Presentation • Assigned work: • Finish yesterday’s assignment(s) • Start new assignment(s) • Court room procedure etc.

2. 7.2 – The criminal Trial Process

3. The Criminal Trial Process Intro • A criminal trial is an adversarial process that pits the Crown against the accused. • Section 11(d) Canadian Charter of Rightsstates that each person charged with an offense is: • “presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law” • This is where “burden of proof” comes into play…

4. The Criminal Trial Process (p174) • Key Point: burden of proof • …is the Crown’s obligation to prove the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt • proof of guilt must be beyond a reasonable doubt

5. The Criminal Trial Process II (Crown) • The Crown’s Opening Statement • starts the trial • They do so as they have the “burden of proof” • includes: • offence committed • summary of evidence to be presented • general outline of how Crown will present its case • Direct Examination • …is the first questioning of a witness to determine what he or she observed about the crime • completed by Crown counsel

6. The Criminal Trial Process III (Defence) • Cross-Examination • …is the second questioning of a witness to test the accuracy of the testimony • performed by Defence counsel • Motion for Dismissal • Defence may bring a motion for dismissal – a request to the judge that the charges against the accused by dropped • This is done if council believes that Crown has failed to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt • If judge agrees, case withdrawn from jury = directed verdict of not guilty • The Defence’s Opening Statement • …is summary of arguments to be used by defence

7. The Criminal Trial Process IV • Direct Examination by Defence • questioning of own witnesses by Defence counsel • Defence brings witnesses to refute the Crown’s testimony • Done so show reasonable doubt • Cross Examination by Crown • questioning of defence witnesses by Crown counsel • The defendant may also choose to testify on their behalf at this time • Crown Rebut • …is the Crown’s chance to contradict evidence introduced by Defence • DefenceSurrebuttal • …is a reply to Crown’s rebuttal • Closing Statements by both sides

8. Rules of Evidence • “I object!!!” - The following questions and answers posed or provided in court may be ‘objected’ to by either counsel: • Judge must decide if the evidence is “admissible” (accepted) to the court; objection can occur with: • leading questions • …is a question designed to elicit a specific answer • i.e.: “So, you hate Bob, right?” • hearsay statements • …evidence given by a witness based on information they received from a third party • i.e.: “Terry told me Larry stabbed Bob.” • opinion statements • …witnesses cannot offer opinions unless they are recognized experts offering opinions on their area of knowledge

9. Rules of Evidence II • immaterial or irrelevant questions • …are questions that have no direct application to the case at hand • non-responsive answers • …when a witness provides an answer that doesn’t answer the question that was asked Of note: In cross-examination, counsel may ask leading questions as long as it pertained to previous testimony. - i.e. statement made (to witness) “You want this court to believe you saw Manny trying to hang Mr. Hill in a noose?” The question refers to a fact – the witness saw Manny try and hang Mr. Hill – a fact that was already established in the direct examination…

10. Types of Evidence • Evidence is the information that will prove or disprove disputed facts in a court of law. • Evidence must be “material”, that is relevant and important to the case • direct evidence • …is the testimony given by a witness to prove an alleged fact • i.e.: an eyewitness (Austin saw Manny make the noose and put it around Mr. Hill’s neck) • circumstantial evidence • …is indirect evidence that leads to a reasonable inference of the defendant’s guilt • i.e. someone gets assaulted & robbed, purse found in garbage can with accused finger prints on it. No one saw who did the assault & robbery, but have an idea the accused is responsible • is generally admissible in court – judge must be convinced that defendant’s guilt is one of possible conclusions that could be drawn from the circumstantial evidence

11. Types of Evidence II • character evidence • …is evidence used to establish the likelihood that the defendant is the type of person who either would or would not commit a certain offence • Crown may not introduce ‘bad character’ evidence • i.e. past convictions of defendant, attack credibility not character • Defence may introduce ‘good character’ evidence • Done to sway the jury etc. to the fact that the accused could never do such a thing • electronic surveillance • …the use of any electronic device to overhear or record communications between two or more people • wiretapping – intercepting phone communications • bugging – recording oral communications • Must be established by court order, unless emergency situation

12. Types of Evidence III • polygraph tests • ‘lie-detector’ test • measures changes in pulse, respiration, and blood pressure • not 100% accurate • Relies on the competence & accuracy of examiner • results not admissible as evidence, but anything said by defendant during testing is admissible • voir dire • …is a mini-trial in which jurors are excluded while the admissibility of evidence is discussed • Most common use, decide if accused confession was given in good faith.

13. Ok, that’s it… • What you can do: • Finish yesterday’s work if not done so already… • NEW assignment(s) • Court Room Layout • Court Room Q&A • Court Personnel Roles • Read and answer the questions… • Definitions… good news/bad news scenario