The contention that a witness should be permitted to veil her face on religious grounds, partly because facial cues are generally unreliable, was probed vigorously at a recent Supreme Court hearing.
“If you asked 100 experienced counsel whether it is of importance to them, in the conduct of their defence, to see the face of the complainant in any case?—??intuitively, what do you think they’d say?” asked Justice Morris Fish.
“They’d say that it is,” conceded David Butt, who acknowledged that his argument challenges the “great weight” the legal profession puts on assessing a witness’s demeanour. [Canadian Lawyers Weekly] Read more [via National Secular Society]
