The Crown applied for leave to provide a prosecution witness with transcripts of her earlier testimony to refresh her memory before resuming cross‑examination following a five‑month interruption in proceedings.
The defence opposed the request, arguing it would breach professional conduct rules and permit the witness to rehearse prior answers where credibility was a central issue.
The court held that while it had discretion to permit such access, the request was speculative and not sufficiently necessary given the witness’s extensive notes and documentary record.
The court determined the safer course was to maintain the status quo and allow the witness to refresh her memory from transcripts only if a lack of recall arose during testimony.
The application was dismissed.
