 |
| Patrick Ducharme |
In proceedings under specified sections of the Code (mostly “sexual offences”) if the complainant is under 18 at the time of the alleged offence, a videotape, made within a reasonable time after the alleged offence, is admissible in evidence, if the complainant or witness, while testifying, adopts the contents of the videotape.1 Section 715.2 extends this method to persons who have difficulty by reason of mental or physical disability.
715.1(1): In any proceeding against an accused in which a victim or other witness was under the age of eighteen years at the time the offence is alleged to have been committed, a video recording made within a reasonable time after the alleged offence, in which the victim or witness describes the acts complained of, is admissible in evidence if the victim or witness, while testifying, adopts the contents of the video recording, unless the presiding Judge or Justice is of the opinion that admission of the video recording in evidence would interfere with the proper administration of justice.
(2) Order prohibiting use — The presiding Judge or Justice may prohibit any other use of a video recording referred to in subsection (1).
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.
Subscribe to Patrick Ducharme's Youtube Channel