Presenter:
Steven Penney is a Professor at the University of Alberta Faculty of Law, specializing in criminal law, evidence, privacy, and technology.
Description:
The Courthouse Libraries BC is proud to support the Criminal Defense Advocacy Society (CDAS) in presenting: Reversing the presumption: admitting prior inconsistent statements for their truth.
The traditional rule excluding a witness's prior inconsistent statements is outdated. Although Canadian courts can admit them as hearsay exceptions, they remain presumptively inadmissible. This presumption should be reversed for two reasons. First, many other jurisdictions already treat these statements as presumptively admissible. Second, Canadian case law shows they are admitted far more often than not, especially when the witness can be cross-examined in a meaningful way. Prior inconsistent statements should therefore be presumptively admissible as non-hearsay. They should only be excluded in the rare case where meaningful cross-examination of the witness is impossible.
Steven Penney is a Professor at the University of Alberta Faculty of Law, specializing in criminal law, evidence, privacy, and technology. He is the co-author of Criminal Procedure in Canada and co-editor of Evidence: A Canadian Casebook. He is the recipient of awards for both teaching and legal scholarship, including the Law Society of Alberta / Canadian Bar Association Distinguished Service Award for Legal Scholarship (2021) and the Faculty of Law Tevie Miller Teaching Excellence Award (2020).
Participants may claim 1.5 CPD credits. Content is designed for the BC legal community, including LSBC members, court clerks, articling students, and Notaries Public. While primarily created for legal professionals the audience may also include community advocates, law librarians, self-represented litigants, and the public.
Date and time:
Thursday, October 30th, 2025 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM
To register:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jJtGkK2-TH6cLiOz_kx6Og
Criminal Scholars Series is a co-production of the Criminal Defense Advocacy Society and Courthouse Libraries BC.