If a police officer is a witness in court, can the defence lawyer bring up his disciplinary record? Police forces across the country don’t like this idea at all, fearing that the cop’s integrity will end up on trial (Edmonton Sun article).

I was in a bail hearing on Friday. A proposed surety took the stand. He is apparently a respected member of his community, a hard-working man, and a father. What did the Crown do during the cross-exam? They pulled out his criminal record. The man had been long pardoned, and the other charge had been dropped. It still came up though, and the Crown had easy access to this information.

I guess no privacy issues came up because he is an ordinary citizen. But it was certainly awkward.

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