The Use Of Experts And The Rights Of Defence Counsel

If you are going to raise a Section 16 defence that the individual is not criminally responsible, you have to file a report from a psychiatrist. If you are arguing issues of gunshot residue and evidence of a weapon being used, you have to retain a ballistics expert. You may hire a toxicologist to argue about the extent of alcohol or toxins in either the deceased’s body or the accused’s body. You may hire your own pathologist to provide evidence and criticize the autopsy report that was prepared by the Crown pathologist. You can hire accident reconstruction experts, you can hire a private investigator to gather your own evidence and conduct your own investigations. As defence lawyer, you are entitled to do everything you can to ensure your client gets a fair trial and to test the evidence that the Crown is seeking to induce the trial.

There was a case many years ago that changed the course of trials. It is a case called Stinchcome in which a Vancouver lawyer was charged with fraud and the Supreme Court of Canada ultimately ruled that in criminal trials the accused is entitled to full disclosure so that the defence lawyer can assess the strength of the Crown’s case before they respond to it and certainly before they proceed with the trial. The accused and his counsel are entitled to review all the evidence that is deemed relevant prior to the trial and even prior to deciding whether to proceed to trial. This Supreme Court ruling guarantees the accused person full and frank disclosure of all the evidence that the Crown has gathered to prepare for trial. Even evidence that they do not intend to rely upon, including evidence that may be harmful to the crown’s case, must be disclosed.

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If you, or someone you care about, is dealing with criminal law issues in the Ottawa, Ontario Region, contact Engel & Lewandowski Barristers & Solicitors for a consultation.