'He Said-She Said' Dilemma: Basic Principles of Assessing Witness Credibility

Our courts determine witnesses' credibility on a daily basis. When faced with conflicting oral evidence, how does a court determine which witness to believe? What is the impact of a witness's appearance, demeanour, or sincerity on a judge's determination of the witness's credibility? This lecture addresses these questions and explains the fundamental principles that courts follow in determining a witness's credibility.
Useful cases:
Faryna v. Chorny (1951): www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcca/doc...
Frame v. Rai (2012): www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcsc/doc...
This lecture is taught by Amer Mushtaq, LL.B., M. Engineering, B.Sc. (Hons.), who is the Principal and Founder of the law firm, Formative LLP. Through this RUclips channel, Amer shares practical advice from his years of legal experience to help anyone access justice and achieve their goals. Subscribe today to learn more.
Amer also offers in-depth courses (by paid subscription) on various legal topics through www.youcounsel.ca/.
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Lecture Outline:
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0:02 Introduction to “He Said/She Said” Dilemma (Witness Credibility) and Disclaimer
0:37 Witness Credibility Issue
1:33 How do Judges Make that Decision?
4:14 Principles of Credibility Assessment
9:29 How much to Believe a Witness?
10:41 Conclusion
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Looking to hire a lawyer or seeking legal advice?
Visit Formative LLP (www.formativelaw.ca) where you can get in touch with Amer and his team to help you navigate your legal concerns.
Book a call directly with Amer on Clarity:
clarity.fm/amermushtaq
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Visit www.youcounsel.ca/
Show notes, links, further readings, attachments:
www.formativelaw.ca/2020/10/he...
To access the slides used in this presentation, visit:
www.formativelaw.ca/2020/10/he...
For the machine generated transcription to this video, visit:
www.formativelaw.ca/2020/10/he...

[@findthegood8187]

Another case is R v W (D), [1991] 1 S.C.R. 742, this is used a lot in credibility cases, and he said, she said defences.

[@davidgleeson9225]

I really enjoyed it and I'm just a passenger assistant on an autistic kids bus on £ 25 a day and no pay in the holidays

[@whoisinwonderland7987]

Thank you for sharing your wisdom and knowledge

[@johnjohnson1681]

ill tell you how they make the decision it depends on whether you stand while peeing or if you sit the latter always wins

[@kevinnapier8996]

Political debates are filled with this and it makes choices difficult for voters.

[@Tailss1]

You missed mentioning R. vs W.D. as a leading case in deciding credibility of a witness.

[@scottishboer3126]

What if a woman accuses you that you had sex with her while she was asleep and she only found out in the morning and when she found she never had anything to do with you again and hardly spoke to you. But I have emails 2011 right through to 2018 when she sent me nudes and was inviting me to her house. We then fell out. She only filed a charge in 2021 for an event she says happened 2010