In assessing the demeanour of a witness, can a witness be distinguished from their physical appearance?
Ontario, Canada
The following excerpt is from College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario v. Vora, 2021 ONCPSD 28 (CanLII):
In assessing the demeanour of a witness, we are aware, as noted in Law Society of Upper Canada v. Neinstein, 2010 ONCA 193 at para. 66, that demeanour alone is a “notoriously unreliable predictor of accuracy” of a witness’s evidence, and credibility should never be determined solely on the basis of demeanour.
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