LRC Reports
The Rule in Hollington v. Hewthorn (1977)
Keywords: Hollington v. Hewthorn; previous; conviction; acquittal; burden of proof; proof; evidence; admissibility; defamation; civil; proceeding; jury; action; judgment; offence; hearsay; abolition; plea; matrimonial; cause; adultery; filiation
In civil proceedings, evidence that a party to the lawsuit has previously been convicted of an offence arising out of the same facts as are at issue in the civil proceedings is not admissible. This rule of evidence is known as the rule in Hollington v. Hewthorn, after the mid-twentieth-century English case in which it was stated. This project surveys court cases applying the rule, in British Columbia and elsewhere, and considers the options for legislative reform.
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