Crown Appeals Against Acquittals




Through s. 676(1) (a) of the Criminal Code, Parliament limits Crown appeals against acquittals in proceedings by indictment to “question[s] of law alone.” As a result, Parliament has accepted that an acquittal at trial on an indictable offence cannot be overturned unless an error of law was made.

An appellant must demonstrate an error of law has been made, and—to a reasonable degree of certainty--that the error was material to the trial judge’s verdict.

R. v. George, 2017 SCC 38 (CanLII), at para. 27.



Stuart O’Connell, O’Connell Law Group, www. leadersinlaw.ca






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