Direct examination is the lawyer's opportunity to ask questions of a witness who the lawyer themself is calling as their witness, which just means that it's a witness who they think will be helpful to their case And when a lawyer is conducting direct examination, they really want to ask the witness questions to allow the witness to tell the whole story, and allow the witness to be what you might think of as the star of the show, and someone who can really explain to the judge what happened The key to direct examination for the lawyer is to use open-ended questions and the best way to think about that is really, questions that begin with who? what? where? when? and why? And that allows the witness to be the one who gives the information, rather than the lawyer Good morning, Your Honour, My name is Mr. Buozis... Judge: Good morning ...and I will be conducting the direct examination of Constable Rachel DiCarlo All right, go ahead Can you please state your name for the court? DiCarlo: Rachel DiCarlo And what is your current profession? I am a Toronto - I am employed by the Toronto Police Service Bouzis: And what division are you located at? 13 Division Where is this - Sorry, where is 13 division located? DiCarlo: It is located near Eglinton Avenue in Toronto I see you have brought your police notes with you Were they written at the time of the event? Yes, they were And are they in your own handwriting? Yes, they are Bouzis: Are they in pen or pencil? DiCarlo: They're in pen Have you made any additions, deletions or corrections? DiCarlo: None at all Do you have an independent recollection of the events? I do Bouzis: And do you need your notes to refresh your memory? Yes, I do Bouzis: Your Honour, may Constable DiCarlo use her notes to refresh her memory? Does the defense have any objections to the constable using her notes to refresh her memory? No, Your Honour. No objections Thank you Bouzis: I'm going to take you back to the evening of March 10th, 2010 Bouzis: What were you doing at approximately seven o'clock PM? At about seven o'clock I was called down to, um... to inspect a - an assault and a robbery near Eglinton Avenue Can you describe the crime scene and its surroundings? Well, about 10 metres before the, um... the alleyway there was a lamppost facing down and... there was also ample lighting from surrounding buildings from the alleyway And after you investigated at the crime scene, what was the next stage your investigation? Well, the next day on March 10th I went to... Sorry - I'm sorry, March 11th, I was called down to the hospital to see the victim, Anver Williams, in hospital And can you describe the appearance of Mr. Williams at the time of the interview? Well, he was bruised. Black eyes, broken nose He was bandaged up on his ribs and lying on the hospital bed Bouzis: And what happened during this interview? DiCarlo: Well, I obtained a full report from Mr. Williams Bouzis: After the interview, what happened next in your investigation? On April 9th, I received a phone call from the principal of Tomorrow Secondary School And she was calling regarding an individual at the school... Just one moment, please Objection, Your Honour And what is the basis for your objection? The evidence is hearsay All right, any response? Yes, Your Honour This is basically part of the narrative as to why Donovan Tisi was a suspect And why he was further sought out to be questioned And also, the rumours aren't going to be used for the truth of the matter It's just basically for the narrative as to why he was suspected All right. I'm prepared to admit the evidence as part of the narrative to explain the officer's actions and what happened, but not for the truth of the contents Crown Counsel: Thank you, Your Honour Judge: Go ahead, thank you So... Okay, and why did the principal contact you? Well, she contacted me because there was a student at the school and there's rumours about this student - That they had assaulted and robbed a younger youth, earlier on, and stole their basketball shoes And who was the student in question? It was Donovan Tisi Was any further action taken? Yes, to see and to clarify whether or not Donovan Tisi was in the alleyway, I made a photo lineup so Anver could pick out whether or not Donovan was in it And, how did you construct this photo lineup? Well, basically, the photo lineup had six individuals, all male, and they had similar characteristics, such as jaw line, facial features, hair colour, eye colour and skin tone And, did Mr. Williams recognize anyone in this photo lineup? Yes. He picked out - his first choice was Donovan Tisi Bouzis: Okay, and... What happened on April 10th, 2010? Well, I went to the apartment building of Donovan Tisi to ask him a few questions, and outside of the apartment I did find a pair of basketball shoes that match the exact description of Anver Williams' stolen basketball shoes And can you describe these basketball shoes? Well, they were high-tops, and they were black, white and red Your Honour, may I please approach the witness? Go ahead Are these the basketball shoes that you obtained? Yes, they are Your Honour, may these be entered as an exhibit, as the witness has identified them as the stolen goods? Any objection? No objection, Your Honour All right, thank you. Go ahead Those will be entered as an exhibit, then Bouzis: And... What happened next after you entered the apartment complex? Well, I arrested Donovan Tisi for assault causing bodily harm and for robbery And as we were leaving the apartment I picked up the basketball shoes and put them in a sealed evidence bag And I put them in my locker until I brought them to court today as evidence Okay. No further questions, Your Honour