Directed Verdicts of Acquittal
In a typical criminal case, the Crown Prosecutor leads evidence in an attempt to prove beyond a reasonable doubt all the essential elements of each of the charges before the Court. When the Crown has concluded its case, the Court invites the accused to call evidence. Before deciding whether to call evidence it is open to the accused to bring an application for a directed verdict of acquittal on the basis that no reasonable jury, properly instructed, could return a verdict of guilty. A directed verdict of acquittal (also called a non-suit ) is a creature of the common law. R. v. Litchfield , 1993 CanLII 44 (SCC). A d irected verdict takes its name from the fact, that historically, the trial judge literally directed the jury to return a verdict of not guilty (a procedure which was reformed in 1994 in R. v. Rowbotham, [1994] 2 S.C.R. 463). [FN1] It is only after the prosecution has formally closed its case that an application for a directed verdict can be brought. T...