Can a lay witness testify in the form of an opinion?
Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
The following excerpt is from R v Mugford, 1990 CanLII 6504 (NL CA):
In Gratt v. The Queen, 1982 CanLII 33 (SCC), [1982] 2 S.C.R. 819; 45 N.R. 451, Dickson, J., at pp. 836-837 (S.C.R.) rejected the general proposition that a nonexpert witness's opinion upon the ultimate issue must be excluded when he stated at p. 837 (S.C.R.): "I can see no reason in principle or in common sense why a lay witness should not be permitted to testify in the form of an opinion if, by doing so, he is able more accurately to express the facts he perceived."
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