The Modern Approach to Assessing the Threshold Reliability of a Hearsay Statement
The rule excluding hearsay Hearsay evidence is presumptively inadmissible primarily because, absent contemporaneous cross-examination of the declarant, the party against whom the evidence is offered cannot effectively test the reliability and veracity of the out-of-court statement. Hearsay evidence is excluded both to protect the integrity of the truth seeking function of the trial and to preserve the fairness of the trial: See Khelawon, at paras. 48, 63; and R. v. Couture, 2007 SCC 28 (CanLII) , [2007] 2 S.C.R. 517, at para. 77. The principled exception to the rule excluding hearsay The principled exception to the hearsay rule was discussed by the Supreme Court of Canada in the cases of R. v. Khan, 1990 CanLII 77 (SCC), [1990] 2 S.C.R. 531, R. v. Smith, 1992 CanLII 79 (SCC) , [1992] 2 S.C.R. 915 and R. v. Khelawon, 2006 SCC 57 (CanLII) , [2006] 2 S.C.R. 787. In essence, the Supreme Court of Canada has found that hears...