Religious oaths in court, a poisoned blueberry farm, and Police Act staffing requirements

In British Columbia witnesses who are testifying in court are required to choose between swearing a religious oath, or making an affirmation, to tell the truth. 

Children under 14 are only asked to promise to tell the truth. 

The origin of oaths, to tell the truth, was a belief that divine retribution would visit those who lied under oath. 

While witnesses are not told they have the option to swear an oath on something other than a bible, that is permitted.

Alberta recently announced that they are providing eagle feathers for witnesses who wish to swear an oath using those. 

In British Columbia courts have permitted a wide range of witness oaths including a Scottish Oath that involves a raised right arm, rather than holding a bible in the right hand, while swearing the oath. 

The origin of holding up your right hand seems to have come from Roman law where the penalty for perjury included having your right hand branded. 

One of the more elaborate oaths, that was previously used in British Columbia, by some Chinese witnesses, was the Chicken Oath. This involved the witness being handed a piece of paper with the following writing:

Oath made by … witness signs his name … being a true witness, I shall enjoy happiness and my sons and grandsons will prosper forever. If I give false evidence I shall die on the street, Earth will destroy me, and I shall forever suffer in adversity, and all my offspring will be exterminated. In burning this oath, I humbly submit myself to the will of heaven which has brilliant eyes to see. 

The following instructions were then provided for the Court Clerk:

The witness having signed his name twice, and a cock (male chicken) having been procured, the court (and jury, where applicable) adjourns to a convenient place outside the building where the full ceremony of administering the oath is performed. A block of wood, an axe of a knife, not less than three punk sticks, a pair of candles and a joss paper being obtained, Chinese candles are stuck in the ground and lighted. The oath is then read out loud by the witness, after which he wraps it in joss paper as used in religious ceremonies. The witness then lays the cock on the block and chops its head off, then sets fire to the oath from the candles and hold it until it is consumed. 

Efforts, in British Columbia, to accommodate differing religious preferences were certainly preferable to earlier English decisions, some of which refused to permit any evidence from “Infidels” on the basis that they did not believe in a God. 

Rather than adding more options for different religious oaths, and requiring witnesses to declare their religion, or lack thereof, before testifying it would make more sense to ask all witnesses to affirm or, as is the practice in some places, to “swear or affirm”, without inquiring which option someone is choosing, and without presenting them with a religious text of any kind. 

Continuing to permit witnesses to perform different religious ceremonies before giving evidence runs the risk that, particularly juries, might take this choice into consideration when assessing the evidence of a witness.

Also discussed is a British Columbia Supreme Court case that involved a Langley blueberry farm that went into foreclosure: the two brothers who owned it were found to have killed all the blueberry bushes with herbicide before turning it over to the new owners. 

Finally, the second application, in two years, by the Victoria and Esquimalt Police Board to have the Victoria and Esquimalt municipalities ordered to provide adequate law enforcement is discussed.

Follow this link for links for the cases discussed and a transcript of the show.