Appealing Against an Unreasonable Verdict
The Unreasonable Verdict Test Under section 686(1)(a)(i) Criminal Code, a court on appeal will set aside a verdict of guilt as unreasonable where it finds that there was no evidence on which a properly instructed jury could make a finding of guilt. R. v. Biniaris , 2000 SCC 15, [2000] 1 S.C.R. 381. The reasonableness of a jury verdict focuses on the conclusion reached at trial – the verdict – and measures it against the totality of the evidence adduced at trial: R. v. Sinclair , 2011 SCC 40 (CanLII), [2011] 3 S.C.R. 3, at paras. 69, 78, 81. Under s. 686(1)(a)(i), the function of the court of appeal extends beyond merely finding that there was evidence adduced at trial to support a conviction, the verdict rendered by the jury. It is to determine on the evidence as a whole whether the verdict is one that a properly instructed jury, acting judicially, could reasonably have rendered: R. v. Yebes , 1987 CanLII 17 (SCC), [1987] 2 S.C.R. 168, ...