Today’s Court of Appeal decision in R. v. Owjee, 2008 ONCA 409 is a helpful reminder of how important it is to ensure that hearsay evidence, if considered by the court, comes in under a traditional exception or the principled approach. This is especially true when correspondence if before the court – just because a letter is before the court as an exhibit is not proof of the truth of the facts contained therein.
In Owjee a letter from family law counsel referring to family violence was used to support a finding of assault. The family law lawyer, of course, had no personal knowledge of the events and did not testify. In the result the finding of assault was set aside and a new trial ordered.
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