Do You Have The Right To Face Your Accuser In Canada?

Did you ever wonder if you have the right to face your accuser in a Canadian criminal courtroom? Well, it’s a loaded answer, and the answer is mostly, yes. In most situations, you do, the accuser, the alleged complainant or victim, is testifying in the courtroom, and your lawyer will be cross examining them. And this is a very effective thing, because the cross examination, of course, gets at the truth, and that’s the whole purpose of it. It’s a great engine for getting at the truth. Now, there’s exceptions. For example, we have rights for victims, and victims deserve rights in Canada first. So for example, if you have a child of under 18, and they’re the victims, say, of a sexual assault under Section 486.2 or the Criminal Code, they can testify behind a screen or by closed circuit TV. And you may say, well, oh boy, I’m not confronting the person directly. I don’t get to look them right in the eyes. Well, I found from in most cases, actually it is quite helpful, because we get more full and candid, you know, version of events from the alleged victim in this situation, and a defence counsel can cross examine. Sometimes, when a young person is in court, it’s a very daunting experience for them, and we can understand that. So, the cranium Criminal Code has developed these protections for victims over the years, and I found by and large that it’s still effective to be able to cross examine them by closed circuit TV or behind a screen. The screen is less used now. It was used a lot in the past. You still can be, but in most situations, I’m seeing closed circuit TV. And this goes for adults, too, if you have. For example, a sexual assault victim, and there’s a section of the criminal code that allows them to also testify behind a screen or from closed circuit TV, because it’s, again, it’s a very difficult experience for them.

You’ll recall, for example, in the Canadian World Junior champions who were on trial recently, that particular victim testified behind a closed-circuit TV and everything worked out in that trial is fine. So that’s been my experience, I mean, I prefer to be able to confront an accused accuser directly in court. You get to look them in the eyes, and that sometimes provides a better opportunity to confront someone who’s not telling the truth, because sometimes it’s difficult when you’re testifying and lying, for example, to be able to withstand a proper cross examination. But of course, many victims in Canada are telling the truth, and we’re here in court to protect both the accused, but there’s also protections for victim. Now here, essentially in Canada, unlike the states where there’s an amendment, in the states where you’re allowed to confront your accuser, person, we don’t necessarily have that right. It’s a right, though, to a fair trial. It’s a right to be able to challenge the evidence and present full answer defence. And you can still do that when the person’s behind the screen, a young person. You can still do that when an alleged sexual assault victims testifying by closed circuit TV. And as I mentioned, we saw that very, very well in the recent well publicized case out of London, Ontario with the World Junior champions. So, there you have it. It’s an essential right in Canada to be able to challenge the evidence, to be able to cross examine an accuser, but not necessarily in person, in court, it may be quite closed-circuit TV for a young person or screen. And of course, in a sexual assault case, if there’s an application made by the Crown and that the judge finds that the person cannot give a full, candid explanation of the events in court because they’re sitting there, you know, 20 feet away from the person that sexually assaulted them. Well, that’s good for a victim to be able to testify remotely in a courtroom, outside the courtroom, in another you know, on closed circuit TV. There you have it.