PLEA gratefully acknowledges our primary core funder the Law Foundation of Saskatchewan for their continuing and generous support of our organization.
Your case to the court is presented through evidence. Evidence may be given by witnesses, including you, and by presenting materials to support your case, such as documents, diagrams and photos. It is the quality of your evidence that is important not the quantity. For example, it is usually not necessary to have more than one witness testify to the same facts.
Some evidence may also be presented by agreement. This can happen when certain evidence is not in dispute. For example, both parties may agree on what work or services were requested and the time frame for the work or services, even if they disagree about the quality. Determining which facts can be agreed upon can be discussed at the Case Management Conference for Small Claims cases and at the Pre-Trial Conference for King's Bench cases. Agreed facts can also be discussed at the start of a trial with the judge inviting the parties to indicate their agreement regarding the filing of routine evidence.
The basic rules about evidence in court cases are that it must be...
The judge will determine whether the evidence you propose to submit is relevant and reliable. Relevant means that it would affect the outcome of the case. For example, you may not be allowed to call another dissatisfied customer of the defendant because this would not be considered relevant to your case against the defendant.
Reliable means that the evidence has credibility or is believable. Second-hand evidence is called "hearsay" and is generally not allowed because it is not as reliable as first-hand evidence. If a witness tries to testify about what someone, other than the other party, said about the case it is hearsay. If a document is presented by someone other than the person who created the document this is also hearsay. Hearsay evidence may be admitted if the judge has found that it is both necessary and reliable. Questions about hearsay evidence should be discussed at the Case Management Conference (Small Claims cases) or Pre-Trial Conference (King’s Bench cases.) If the judge rules that your evidence cannot be presented because it is not relevant and/or reliable you must accept that ruling and move forward.
Courts can be faced with conflicting evidence about what has happened in a particular case. Some of the things that a court might consider in deciding between different versions of events include...
Any person giving evidence to the court must swear or affirm to tell the truth. This helps to ensure that the evidence before the court is reliable. The difference between an oath and an affirmation is that an oath refers to God. People can choose to take an oath or an affirmation, depending on their personal beliefs. It is a criminal offence, called perjury, to knowingly make false statements after taking an oath or affirming to tell the truth. Witnesses who appear in court will be asked to swear an oath or affirm to tell the truth before they begin their testimony.
For some cases the court will make their decision based on written testimony in the form of an Affidavit. Affidavits must be signed in front of a Commissioner for Oaths or a Notary Public who will ask the person signing to take an oath or affirm that the contents of the Affidavit are true. The Commissioner for Oaths or Notary Public does not consider the content of the Affidavit or provide any advice about the case. You can look in the yellow pages to find a Commissioner for Oaths or a Notary Public. They will charge a fee for their service. You can also take your court documents to the courthouse where the case will be heard and staff at the court house will provide this service for free.
If your case is being decided on Affidavit evidence you can attach documents to your Affidavit to support what you are saying. For example, you might attach a receipt to support what you have said about the cost of an item or a service.
Remember evidence is sworn testimony. If you attach, for example, a letter from someone that supports your case that letter is not evidence because the person did not swear it is true. If someone has something to say that supports your case either have them prepare their own Affidavit or call them as a witness.
Introduce the document in your Affidavit. This means you state what it is and that it is attached as an Exhibit.
Letter the Exhibits starting with A. So for the first document you attach you would say it is attached as exhibit A, for the second exhibit B etc.
Do not attach the same document more than once. If you refer to it again use the same letter you used when you first introduced it.
Mark the documents with the letter and bring them when you swear the Affidavit.
Evidence to support your case is either given by Affidavit or through testimony as a witness in court, depending on the circumstances. In both cases the following are important points to keep in mind:
The Regina Public Library and Saskatoon Public Library are hosting free Law Fair events during Saskatchewan Access to Justice Week to connect people with free legal information, assistance, and support. Attend to acquire legal knowledge and to broaden awareness of legal rights and responsibilities!