CANADA
Nunatsiaq Online
DAVID MURPHY
Justice Robert Kilpatrick as ruled that Eric Dejaeger’s previous criminal record cannot be entered into evidence, or used against him, at his trial now underway in Iqaluit.
In a written decision released March 18, Kilpatrick said several of the Crown’s questions during Dejaeger’s cross-examination were a “trap” set in order to bring the Belgian priest’s character into question.
“An accused does not put his or her character into issue in circumstances where he or she is tricked into doing so by inappropriate questions raised by the Crown in cross-examination,” Kilpatrick said in the statement.
Kilpatrick released his decision the morning after both Crown and defence lawyers wrestled in the Nunavut Court of Justice over whether to admit his previous criminal record as evidence March 17.
Because such evidence can be highly prejudicial to an accused person, Crown lawyers can’t introduce it unless they persuade a judge that the value of such evidence in establishing facts outweighs its prejudicial effects.
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