In June 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada (“the SCC”) ruled in R v Bradshaw that the test for using corroborative evidence to establish substantive reliability of hearsay evidence is a strict one. If it is being used to establish the reliability of a hearsay statement, the corroborative evidence must (a) go to the material […]
Among the more controversial areas of Canadian evidence law are confessions obtained through “Mr. Big” operations. This unique investigative tactic involves the creation of an elaborate but fictitious criminal organization that recruits the suspect of a cold case to join its ranks. Over the course of several “scenarios,” the participating undercover police officers engage the […]
R v Hart, 2014 SCC 52 [Hart], is about the admissibility of confessions elicited during “Mr. Big” operations, a relatively common sting tactic used by police across the country. The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) found that confessions given during such operations are often unreliable and introduced a stringent new test for their admissibility as […]