CLE Online

Welcome and Land Acknowledgment (9:00 – 9:05)

Theresa Iandiorio — Crown Counsel, Ministry of Attorney General, New Westminster
Michael Parrish — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver

Expert Evidence Case Law Update (9:05 – 9:50)

• recap of SCC's decision in White Burgess v. Abbott, 2015 SCC 23
• survey of recent cases from SCC, BCCA, BCSC, and other courts
• Rule 11-6 and 11-7
• trends and developing issues
• key take-aways on the current state of the law and practice

Theresa Iandiorio — Crown Counsel, Ministry of Attorney General, New Westminster
Michael Parrish — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver

BREAK (9:50 – 10:00)

Selecting, Retaining, and Instructing an Expert (10:00 – 10:40)

• selecting the expert and vetting qualifications
• consulting experts vs. testifying experts
• "hot tubbing" and court appointed experts
• expert fees and budgets
• retaining the expert and retention letters
• instructing the expert and instructing letters
• requested opinions/questions
• factual assumptions 
• documents and other materials
• formal requirements under Rule 11-2 and 11-6
• formal requirements pursuant to s. 657.3 of the Criminal Code
• disclosure of reports/opinions
• in-chief vs. responding vs. supplemental reports

Mandeep Gill — Harper Grey LLP, Vancouver
Gloria M. Ng — Gloria Ng Law, Vancouver

BREAK (10:40 – 10:50)

The Boundaries of Expert Evidence: Novel, Social Science, and "Junk" Science Experts (10:50 – 11:35)

• novel science vs. "junk" science
• Daubert and R. v. J-LJ, 2002 SCC 51
• historical and social science experts
• the perils of faulty scientific evidence in criminal matters
• courtroom presentations and demonstrations

Brent Olthuis — Olthuis Van Ert, Vancouver
Marilyn Sandford, KC — Ritchie Sandford McGowan, Vancouver

BREAK (11:35 – 11:45)

The Expert's Perspective (11:45 – 12:15)

• the role of the expert from the expert's perspective
• what lawyers can do better when retaining and instructing experts
• practical tips on site investigations, preservation of evidence, testing protocols, joint examinations, exemplars
• written instructions, document assembly and review, factual assumptions
• report writing and review
• trial preparation 
• testimony at trial

Elvis Cepus, PhD, PEng — RJ Waldron & Company, Richmond
Christopher J. Reed, PEng — Principal, Reed Engineering Consultants Inc., Langley

LUNCH BREAK (12:15 – 1:00)

Expert Evidence: A View from the Bench (1:00 – 1:30)

The Honourable Madam Justice Carla L. Forth — Supreme Court of BC, Vancouver

BREAK (1:30 – 1:40)

Objecting to Expert Evidence (1:40 – 2:10)

• strategies and tactics for objections
• common grounds for objecting to admissibility
• compliance with s. 657.3(3) of the Criminal Code
• objecting to qualifications
• notice of objections under Rule 11-6(10)
• applying to strike reports
• objections at trial
• responding to objections

Mark Wolf — Crown Counsel, Ministry of Attorney General, Vancouver
Jill S. Yates — McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Vancouver

BREAK (2:10 – 2:20)

Direct Examination of Expert Witnesses (2:20 – 2:50)

• differences between criminal and civil practice 
• practical aspects of conducting direct examination of expert witness in a criminal trial
• when direct permitted: only where demanded or with leave: 11-7(2)
• preparing the expert for the direct testimony at trial
• qualifying the expert
• scope of direct—what is permitted and what is not? 
• operation and limits of Rule 11-7: Cambie Surgeries, 2017 BCSC 581 
• practice and art of direct examination
  • outlining instructions, assumptions, and questions asked
  • outlining methodology and analyses
  • summarizing key opinions
  • effective presentation of the evidence 
  • addressing limitations, errors, anticipating issues on cross-examination
• re-examination? when, why, and what?

Rod Flannigan — Crown Counsel, Ministry of Attorney General, New Westminster
Talya Schapiro — KazLaw Injury Lawyers, Vancouver

BREAK (2:50 – 3:00)

Cross-Examination of Expert Witnesses (3:00 – 3:30)

• theories and practice of cross-examination of experts
• bases for cross-examination: bias, qualifications, instructions, assumptions, documents, methodology, opinion on merits
• common fertile grounds for cross-examination
• scope of cross-examination
• use of learned literature in cross-examination
• recently considered issues including order of cross-examination and "sweetheart crosses" in multi-party litigation

Laura L. Bevan — Lawson Lundell LLP, Vancouver
Lisa J. Helps — Helps Law Corporation, Vancouver

BREAK (3:30 – 3:40)

Demonstration: Direct and Cross-Examination of an Expert Witness (3:40 – 4:10) 

Laura L. Bevan — Lawson Lundell LLP, Vancouver
Rod Flannigan — Crown Counsel, Ministry of Attorney General, New Westminster
Lisa J. Helps — Helps Law Corporation, Vancouver
Kaleigh Milinazzo — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver
Talya Schaprio — KazLaw Injury Lawyers, Vancouver
Mark Wolf — Crown Counsel, Ministry of Attorney General, Vancouver

Closing Remarks (4:10 – 4:15)

Theresa Iandiorio — Crown Counsel, Ministry of Attorney General, New Westminster
Michael Parrish — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver