'First Rate' Fact Finding: Reasonable Inferences in Criminal Trials: A Lecture in Honour of Ivan Cleveland Rand

This lecture, in honour of Justice Ivan Rand, discusses the drawing of reasonable inferences in criminal trials. The process of drawing inferences is grounded in relevance. It would be irrational, unfair, inegalitarian, and inefficient in terms of judicial economy, to base inferences on irrelevant information. It is commonly said that the determination of relevance depends on common sense and human experience. Apart from cases in which there is applicable statute of case law, and unless there is available empirical research, one needs to draw on common sense. The use of common sense requires some structure. The author discusses the structure provided by the Canadian law of evidence and provides case studies of two possible negative inferences: from association and from exculpatory lies. She concludes by calling for a linkage between Rand’s well-known focus on the rule of law and the avoidance of arbitrary fact-finding.