Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Law
A Legal And Psychological Critique Of The Present Approach To The Assessment Of The Competence Of Child Witnesses, Nicholas Bala, Kang Lee, Rod Lindsay, Victoria Talwar
A Legal And Psychological Critique Of The Present Approach To The Assessment Of The Competence Of Child Witnesses, Nicholas Bala, Kang Lee, Rod Lindsay, Victoria Talwar
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
The Canada Evidence Act requires an inquiry to determine whether a child has the requisite moral and intellectual capacity to testify. Caselaw suggests that a child must demonstrate an understanding of abstract concepts like "truth" and "promise" to be competent to testify. This article reports on a survey of Ontario justice system professionals, revealing significant variation in how judges conduct competency inquiries. Children are often asked about religious beliefs and practices, and are frequently asked developmentally inappropriate questions. The authors also report on their experimental research which indicates that children's ability to explain such abstract concepts as "truth," "lie," and …
Challenges For Cause, Stand-Asides, And Peremptory Challenges In The Nineteenth Century, R. Blake Brown
Challenges For Cause, Stand-Asides, And Peremptory Challenges In The Nineteenth Century, R. Blake Brown
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
This article examines the substantial differences that emerged during the nineteenth century between the law of England, the United States, and Canada regarding challenges for cause, stand-asides, and peremptory challenges in the jury selection process. The author argues that these differences stemmed from the unique social conditions of each country. The emergence of legal formalism-with its emphasis on certainty and predictability in the law-affected the development of jury challenges, though the result of formalist thinking had very different effects in all three jurisdictions. In addition, Canadian law regarding jury challenges reveals the influence of both American and English legal trends.