When will a defence witness be allowed to ask questions that have no bearing on the evidence they are giving at trial?
Saskatchewan, Canada
The following excerpt is from R. v. Spicer, 1984 CanLII 2414 (SK CA):
In Koufis v. The King, 1940 CanLII 32 (SCC), 75 C.C.C. 161, Kerwin, J., stated at page 167: “A person charged with having committed a crime is not only entitled to have placed before the jury only evidence that is relevant to the issues before the court but when testifying on his own behalf, he may not be asked questions that have no possible bearing upon such issues and might only tend to prejudice a fair trial.”
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