A word commonly heard in the context of a criminal trial is the word “hearsay”. In criminal evidence, hearsay evidence is in principle inadmissible.

What is hearsay?

An out of court statement, whether it be oral or written, that is tendered at trial for the truth of its content is considered hearsay and is not generally admissible in evidence. What this means is that for an out of court statement to be admissible as evidence at trial for the truth of its content, the person who made that statement must testify at trial and adopt that out of court statement. So for example, if a person said something outside of court, the content of that statement cannot be admitted at trial as true unless the person who made that out of court statement testifies at trial and acknowledges that statement.

Is it possible for an out of court statement to be used as evidence?

But like any rule, the rule against hearsay has some exceptions. The leading case about hearsay is the case of  R . v. Khelawon , [2006] 2 S.C.R. 787 ( Khelawon ), from the Supreme Court of Canada. In Khelawon the Supreme Court clarified the law on hearsay especially as it pertains to the exceptions to hearsay.

Recently, the Ontario Court of Appeal addressed the issue of hearsay in the case of  R . v. Cesar , 2016 ONCA 890 .