OHTA.ca

Hi,

I received a ticket a few months back for failure to obey stop sign but I am an expert in a field that can relate to my charge so I am planning on bringing up theories to support my case. My question is when do I bring them up - during cross examination or my defense? For example, is it better to say to the officer during cross examination 'Sir, have you ever heard of ____ theory?' to which he will reply 'no' and I will explain it, which will create doubt on his story or during cross examination do I just question him about what he already told the prosector? Any help as to when to bring this up would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

You may want to consult with a legal representative for assistance if youre going that route. Depending on what you consider yourself to be an expert in, youll probably need to be qualified as such by the Courts. This will require you demonstrating how/why youre an expert in the matter (i.e. relevant training, experience) to the Courts satisfaction. I believe you will also have to serve notice to the Courts/Crown ahead of time regarding your qualifications/testimony so that theyre prepared. Im also not sure if you can separate your testimony as an expert from that of the accused, meaning you open yourself up to being questioned about the actual incident (which you may or may not want to do).

Don't take this as gospel. I have no personal experience with the process myself, just observations from Criminal matters, so perhaps someone with more experience will correct me.

Out of curiosity, what is the theory that you want to bring up? Is it something that you even need to be an "expert" about?

An expert? In what exactly?