What is the current state of the law on tainted evidence at trial?

British Columbia, Canada


The following excerpt is from R. v Christhurajah, 2016 BCSC 2550 (CanLII):

The trial judge was correct that the generally accepted state of the law is that, where evidence is tainted, either because identification was suggested by the accused’s presence in the prisoner’s box or as a result of inappropriate police procedures, the evidence is not thereby rendered inadmissible. Rather, the evidence of tainting is a factor going to the weight of the evidence which is exclusively the province of the jury. See Mezzo v. The Queen (1986), 1986 CanLII 16 (SCC), 27 C.C.C. (3d) 97 (S.C.C.) . . .

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