Occasionally, the court is confronted with evidence of statements by an accused that contain both inculpatory and exculpatory parts. Case law directs trial Judges to consider it dangerous to instruct the jury in a way that suggests that inculpatory statements should be given more weight than exculpatory statements.1 Prior to the Supreme Court of Canada establishing this rule of evidence, many trial Judges expressed the opinion, written or delivered orally to juries, that if the accused said something detrimental to his own case, he would not have done so unless his inculpatory comments were true. Their theory, apparently, was that a person was unlikely to say something disapproving, harmful or adverse to himself that is false.
It is now settled law by our highest authority, the Supreme Court of Canada, that it is improper to instruct a jury that inculpatory statements should be given more weight than exculpatory statements.
The above is the an excerpt of Patrick J Ducharme’s book, Canadian Criminal Procedure, available at Amazon or in bulk through MedicaLegal Publishing along with Criminal Trial Strategies.
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