Preventing Wrongful Convictions 2010


Course Date: October 16, 2010

Welcome and Introduction

Mary T. Ainslie — Crown Counsel, Criminal Appeals and Special Prosecutions, Vancouver
David M. Layton — Ritchie Sandford, Vancouver

Eyewitness Identification Evidence

  • frailties/weighing of eyewitness of identification
  • use of pre-trial identification procedures
  • expert evidence to explain eyewitness identification
  • recommended police procedures
  • role of jury instructions

Moderator: David M. Layton — Ritchie Sandford, Vancouver
Panelists:
Mark K. Levitz, QC — Crown Counsel, Vancouver 
Dr. J. Don Read — Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby
Peter J. Wilson, QC — Defence Counsel, Wilson Buck Butcher, Vancouver

Networking Break

Expert Evidence

  • the role of the expert/expert bias
  • the admissibility of expert scientific evidence
  • faulty, “junk” and “novel” sciences
  • how are counsel to assess the expert’s expertise 

Moderator: Mary T. Ainslie — Crown Counsel, Criminal Appeals and Special Prosecutions, Vancouver
Panelists:
Dr. John Butt, CM — Pathfinder Forum Consulting, Forensic Medicine & Pathology, Vancouver
Jennifer Duncan — Crown Counsel, Vancouver
Marilyn E. Sandford — Defence Counsel, Ritchie Sandford, Vancouver

Unsavoury Witnesses

  • defining an “unsavoury” witness
  • pre-trial assessment of whether to call an unsavoury witness
  • dealing with an unsavoury witness at trial
  • weighing the testimony of an unsavoury witness
  • role of jury instructions

Moderator: Mary T. Ainslie — Crown Counsel, Criminal Appeals and Special Prosecutions, Vancouver
Panelists:
Glen Orris, QC — Defence Counsel, Glen Orris Law Office, Vancouver
Nikos Harris — Defence Counsel, Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of BC, Vancouver
Carmen Rogers — Crown Counsel, Victoria

Lunch With Featured Speaker: "The Truscott Story"

The Honourable Mr. Justice Marc Rosenberg — Court of Appeals for Ontario, Toronto

Confessions

  • the common law confessions rule and the right to silence
  • why do people falsely confess
  • identifying false confessions
  • persuasive police interviewing techniques
  • Mr. Big operations
  • the admissibility of expert evidence regarding false confessions

Moderator: David M. Layton — Ritchie Sandford, Vancouver
Panelists:
The Honourable Mr. Justice Marc Rosenberg — Court of Appeals for Ontario, Toronto
Gregory James Fitch, QC — Director, Crown Counsel, Criminal Appeals and Special Prosecutions, Vancouver
Sgt. Peter Tewfik — RCMP Investigative Interviewing Unit, Pacific Region Grievance Adjudications, Vancouver

Networking Break

The Role of Counsel and Police in Preventing Wrongful Convictions

  • identifying and preventing tunnel vision/noble cause corruption
  • the role of the Crown
  • the role of the police (and the major case management model)
  • the role of defence counsel
  • environmental factors that lead to wrongful convictions

Moderator: Mary T. Ainslie — Crown Counsel, Criminal Appeals and Special Prosecutions, Vancouver
Panelists:
David G. Butcher — Defence Counsel, Wilson Buck Butcher, Vancouver 
Elizabeth A. Campbell — Crown Counsel, Criminal Appeals and Special Prosecutions, Vancouver
Deputy Chief Constable Doug LePard — Vancouver Police Department, Vancouver

Post Conviction Reviews

  • test for appellate review of convictions
  • Ministerial Review for miscarriages of justice—s. 696.1 of the Criminal Code
  • Innocence Projects
  • accessing information after appellate remedies are exhausted

Moderator: David M. Layton — Ritchie Sandford, Vancouver
Panelists:
The Honourable Madam Justice Catherine A. Ryan — Court of Appeal for BC, Vancouver
Ursula Botz — Crown Counsel, Vancouver
Richard S. Fowler — Defence Counsel, Gibbons Fowler, Vancouver
Oleh S. Kuzma, QC — Crown Counsel, Prince George
Tamara M. Levy — Director, Innocence Project, Faculty of Law, University of BC, Vancouver

Concluding Remarks

Mary T. Ainslie — Crown Counsel, Criminal Appeals and Special Prosecutions, Vancouver
David M. Layton — Ritchie Sandford, Vancouver