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Difference between revisions of "Pleading Not Guilty and Criminal Trials (1:VII)"
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Pleading Not Guilty and Criminal Trials (1:VII) (view source)
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Although the decision for the accused to take the stand and testify in their own defence does not have to be made until Crown has closed its case, the defence/accused needs to know their potential defences before the trial begins. Where the accused has identified a defence for the crime, it is often a good idea to structure the entire defence case around highlighting that defence. However, the defence/accused should pay careful attention to capitalize on any Crown failure to present sufficient evidence on any element of the offence. The defence/accused should also remember that a no-evidence motion may be brought and decided before the accused must decide whether or not to testify or not. | Although the decision for the accused to take the stand and testify in their own defence does not have to be made until Crown has closed its case, the defence/accused needs to know their potential defences before the trial begins. Where the accused has identified a defence for the crime, it is often a good idea to structure the entire defence case around highlighting that defence. However, the defence/accused should pay careful attention to capitalize on any Crown failure to present sufficient evidence on any element of the offence. The defence/accused should also remember that a no-evidence motion may be brought and decided before the accused must decide whether or not to testify or not. | ||
The defence/accused will be invited to make closing submissions once all evidence has been heard. If the defence/accused has called evidence, the defence closes first. If the defence/accused does not call evidence, Crown closes first. The three main sections of closing submissions are i) the facts, ii) the law, and most importantly, iii) applying the law to the facts that the judge should find. The judge can accept all, part, or none of a witness’ testimony. If the accused testifies, the ''[https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1991/1991canlii93/1991canlii93.html?autocompleteStr=W(D)%20&autocompletePos=1 W(D)]'' principles (from R v W(D), below) should also be discussed. | The defence/accused will be invited to make closing submissions once all evidence has been heard. If the defence/accused has called evidence, the defence closes first. If the defence/accused does not call evidence, Crown closes first. The three main sections of closing submissions are i) the facts, ii) the law, and most importantly, iii) applying the law to the facts that the judge should find. The judge can accept all, part, or none of a witness’ testimony. If the accused testifies, the ''[https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1991/1991canlii93/1991canlii93.html?autocompleteStr=W(D)%20&autocompletePos=1 W(D)]'' principles (from ''R v W(D)'', below) should also be discussed. | ||
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