In R. v. A.A. (Ont CA, 2023) the Court of Appeal cites the recognized weakness of trauma-related peripheral memory:
[17] We did not accept this submission. It is well accepted that peripheral details of a traumatic event can be difficult to recall and accurately describe at a later date: see, for example, R. v. G.M.C., 2022 ONCA 2, at para. 38. The trial judge was clearly alive to the complainant's inability to recall certain specific details of the events. However, as the trier of fact, it was open to him to accept the core of the complainant's testimony, which proved the elements of the offences, while acknowledging that she could not explain all the precise details of how she escaped. The impact of this inability, to the extent that it existed, on both the complainant’s overall reliability and credibility was entirely for the trial judge to assess. We discerned no palpable and overriding error in his reasoning.
-
The author has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this Isthatlegal.ca webpage.
