What is the test for credibility and reliability of evidence in a sexual assault case?

British Columbia, Canada


The following excerpt is from Lemyre v. Stubbert, 2015 BCSC 693 (CanLII):

The factors to be considered when assessing credibility and reliability of evidence were summarized in Bradshaw v. Stenner, 2010 BCSC 1398 at para. 186. They include the firmness of the witness' memory, the ability of a witness to resist the influence of interest in modifying her recollections, whether the witness' evidence harmonizes with independent evidence that has been accepted, whether the witness changes her evidence during direct and cross-examination or is otherwise inconsistent in her recollections, whether the witness' evidence seems generally unreasonable, impossible, or unlikely, whether the witness has a motive to lie, and the witness' demeanour generally. Fundamentally, the question is whether the witness' evidence is consistent with the probabilities affecting the case as a whole.

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