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43-703: Normally, no matter how obvious an error is in a verdict or judgement , it cannot be corrected unless either party appeals . Therefore, if the verdict in question is from a supreme court , there would be absolutely no relief due to the lack of a superior court . In order to deal with the possibility of the supreme court making a mistake, extraordinary appeal was introduced as a remedy to correct any finalized court decisions. Although there are no limits regarding how many extraordinary appeals can be filed per case, it does not imply that defendants get infinite chances of appeal. To reflect this, extraordinary appeals are subject to strict conditions, such as only allowed to be filed by

86-447: A ) reasonable doubt is a legal standard of proof required to validate a criminal conviction in most adversarial legal systems . It is a higher standard of proof than the standard of balance of probabilities (US English: preponderance of the evidence) commonly used in civil cases because the stakes are much higher in a criminal case: a person found guilty can be deprived of liberty or, in extreme cases, life , as well as suffering

129-580: A balance of probabilities." It is not enough to believe that the accused is probably guilty, or likely guilty. Proof of probable guilt, or likely guilt, is not proof beyond a reasonable doubt. In New Zealand, jurors are typically told throughout a trial that the offence must be proved "beyond reasonable doubt", and judges usually include this in the summing-up. There is no absolute prescription as to how judges should explain reasonable doubt to juries. Judges usually tell jurors that they will be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt if they "feel sure" or "are sure" that

172-552: A charge of murder but, generally, it is recommended that such verdicts should only be returned in the most exceptional cases. The jury has a historic function of tempering rules of law by common sense brought to bear upon the facts of a specific case. For this reason, Justices Black and Douglas indicated their disapproval of special verdicts even in civil cases. Chisholm, Hugh , ed. (1911). "Verdict"  . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. Beyond reasonable doubt Beyond (

215-606: A final court decision to be illegal, they must contact the Prosecutor General for approval. The motion for an extraordinary appeal itself does not halt any punishment sentenced by the original ruling. A legal extraordinary appeal must fit the following conditions: If the extraordinary appeal is found to be unreasonable: If the extraordinary appeal is found to be reasonable: The Extraordinary Appeal procedure in Taiwan is, indeed as its name, an extraordinary means of relief, but not

258-545: A reasonable doubt of every fact necessary to constitute the crime charged." The US Supreme Court first discussed the term in Miles v. United States : "The evidence upon which a jury is justified in returning a verdict of guilty must be sufficient to produce a conviction of guilt, to the exclusion of all reasonable doubt." The U.S. Supreme Court extended the reasonable doubt standard to juvenile delinquency proceedings because they are considered quasi-criminal. "[W]e explicitly hold that

301-504: A specific monetary amount of damages or a finding of proportionality in addition to the jury's ultimate finding of liability. A special jury verdict form may be used to have the jury answer directed questions as to the required elements for a cause of action or special issues and to demarcate monetary awards of damages by economic and non-economic damages, beneficiary, and specific categories of damages (lost earning capacity, funeral expenses, loss of consortium , pain and suffering , etc.). In

344-582: A variety of analytical perspectives have argued in favor of quantification of the criminal standard of proof. In a 2019 YouGov survey conducted in the United Kingdom, participants were asked to quantify how accurate an evidence had to be before they could consider it to be beyond a reasonable doubt; 15% of Britons said they would accept an evidence that was 99% accurate, while 14% preferred an accuracy of no less than 100%, and 10% said it should be at least 90% or 95% accurate. Medieval Roman law , followed by

387-463: A verdict in one conclusion that settles the case. Such verdict is reported as follows: We the Jury find the issues for the plaintiff (or defendant, as the case may be) and assess his damages at one hundred thousand dollars. A sealed verdict is put into a sealed envelope when there is a delay in announcing the result, such as waiting for the judge, the parties, and the attorneys to return to court. The verdict

430-462: Is an ingredient of a crime there is no onus on the defendant to prove that the act alleged was accidental. Throughout the web of the English Criminal Law one golden thread is always to be seen, that it is the duty of the prosecution to prove the prisoner's guilt subject to what I have already said as to the defence of insanity and subject also to any statutory exception. If, at the end of and on

473-464: Is an order from the presiding judge to the jury to return a particular verdict. Typically, the judge orders a directed verdict after finding that no reasonable jury could decide to the contrary. After a directed verdict, the jury no longer needs to decide the case . A judge may order a directed verdict on an entire case or only on specific issues. In a criminal case in the United States , once

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516-544: Is disagreement as to whether the jury should be given a definition of "reasonable doubt." Some state courts have prohibited providing juries with a definition altogether. In Victor v. Nebraska (1994), the US Supreme Court expressed disapproval of the unclear reasonable doubt instructions at issue, but stopped short of setting forth an exemplary jury instruction. Reasonable doubt came into existence in English common law and

559-657: Is established in chapter 2, part 4 of the Criminal Procedure Act. Extraordinary Appeal in Taiwan is established in part 6 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which was mostly inspired by the Japanese Code of Criminal Procedure. The application for an extraordinary appeal is an exclusive authority of the Prosecutor General of the Supreme Prosecutors Office . Thus, if any defendant or subordinate prosecutor considers

602-420: Is kept in a sealed envelope until the court reconvenes and then handed to the judge. This practice is virtually the default in many U.S. jurisdictions or may be the preference of the judge involved. In English law , a special verdict is a verdict by a jury that makes specific factual conclusions rather than (or in addition to) the jury's declaration of guilt or liability. For example, jurors may write down

645-428: Is normally followed by a judgment of conviction rendered by judge, which in turn be followed by sentencing . In U.S. legal nomenclature, the verdict is the jury's finding on the questions of fact submitted to it. Once the court (the judge) receives the verdict, the judge enters judgment on the verdict. The judgment of the court is the final order in the case. If the defendant is found guilty, they can choose to appeal

688-424: Is part of the common law of England and no attempt to whittle it down can be entertained. In recent years the preferred terminology used is simply "sure" – juries are told they must be "satisfied that they are sure" of the defendant's guilt in order to convict. In Canada, the expression "beyond a reasonable doubt" requires clarification for the benefit of the jury. The leading decision is R. v. Lifchus , where

731-459: Is simply referred to as a finding. In England and Wales , a coroner 's findings used to be called verdicts but are, since 2009, called conclusions (see Coroner § Inquest conclusions (previously called verdicts) ). The term "verdict", from the Latin veredictum , literally means "to say the truth" and is derived from Middle English verdit , from Anglo-Norman : a compound of ver ("true", from

774-571: The Latin vērus ) and dit ("speech", from the Latin dictum , the neuter past participle of dīcere , to say). In a criminal case , the verdict, either "not guilty" or "guilty"—except in Scotland where the verdict of " not proven " is also available—is handed down by the jury. Different counts in the same case may have different verdicts. A verdict of guilty in a criminal case generally requires evidence to be tested and true beyond reasonable doubt and

817-502: The Prosecutor General of a judicial system, the appeal itself does not halt the punishment , and the applicant is only allowed to dispute errors in legal procedures i.e. any extraordinary appeal shall be based upon the facts recognized by the original court and the supreme court shall only examine whether the correct law is properly applied to the recognized facts, but not the facts themselves. Extraordinary Appeal originates from

860-403: The collateral consequences and social stigma attached to a conviction. The prosecution is tasked with providing evidence that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in order to get a conviction; albeit prosecution may fail to complete such task, the trier-of-fact's acceptance that guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt will in theory lead to conviction of the defendant. A failure for

903-827: The "Cassation in the Interest of the Public" clause in the French Constitution of 1791 . The clause was later established with a wider scope of application in the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1808 and 1959 . Inspired by France, an "extraordinary appeal" clause was included in the Japanese Code of Criminal Procedure of 1880. Extraordinary Appeal in Japan is established in part 5 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Extraordinary Appeal in South Korea

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946-516: The 1780s, "the Juryman who finds any other person guilty, is liable to the Vengeance of God upon his Family and Trade, Body and Soul, in this world and that to come." It was also believed that "[i]n every case of doubt, where one's salvation is in peril, one must always take the safer way. ... A judge who is in doubt must refuse to judge." It was in reaction to these religious fears that "reasonable doubt"

989-464: The Due Process Clause protects the accused against conviction except upon proof beyond a reasonable doubt of every fact necessary to constitute the crime with which he is charged." Juries must be instructed to apply the reasonable doubt standard when determining the guilt or innocence of a criminal defendant. However, courts have struggled to define what constitutes a reasonable doubt. There

1032-427: The English jurist Edward Coke , expressed a similar idea by requiring "proofs clearer than light" for criminal conviction. The formulation "beyond reasonable doubt" is characteristic of Anglophone legal systems since the eighteenth century. In English common law prior to the reasonable doubt standard, passing judgment in criminal trials had severe religious repercussions for jurors. According to judicial law prior to

1075-609: The Supreme Court discussed the proper elements of a charge to the jury on the concept of "reasonable doubt" and noted that "[t]he correct explanation of the requisite burden of proof is essential to ensure a fair criminal trial." While the Court did not prescribe any specific wording that a trial judge must use to explain the concept, it recommended certain elements that should be included in a jury charge, as well as pointing out comments that should be avoided. The Supreme Court suggested that

1118-414: The case to the local Court of Appeals. A compromise verdict is a "verdict which is reached only by the surrender of conscientious convictions upon one material issue by some jurors in return for a relinquishment by others of their like settled opinion upon another issue, and the result does not command the approval of the whole panel", and, as such, is not permitted. In a jury trial , a directed verdict

1161-428: The concept of proof beyond a reasonable doubt should be explained to juries as follows: The Court also warned trial judges that they should avoid explaining the concept in the following ways: The Supreme Court of Canada has since emphasized in R. v. Starr that an effective way to explain the concept is to tell the jury that proof beyond a reasonable doubt "falls much closer to absolute certainty than to proof on

1204-551: The defendant is guilty. In line with appellate court direction, judges do little to elaborate on this or to explain what it means. Research published in 1999 found that many jurors were uncertain what "beyond reasonable doubt" meant. "They generally thought in terms of percentages, and debated and disagreed with each other about the percentage certainty required for 'beyond reasonable doubt', variously interpreting it as 100 per cent, 95 per cent, 75 per cent and even 50 per cent. Occasionally this produced profound misunderstandings about

1247-403: The evidence, that would leave an impartial factfinder less than fully convinced of the defendant's guilt. Accordingly, the standard of proof forces the factfinder to ignore unreasonable doubts—doubts that are frivolous, hypothetical, or not logically linked to the evidence—and to consider evidence favoring the accused , since reasonable doubt entitles them to an acquittal. The definitions of

1290-483: The facts seems plausible. If yes, then there is reasonable doubt and the accused must be acquitted. Since 1945, Japan has also operated by a "reasonable doubt" standard, including the doctrine of in dubio pro reo , which was instituted by the Supreme Court during a controversial murder trial in 1975 (the Shiratori case brought before the Supreme Court of Japan, see for example notes on Shigemitsu Dandō ). However, this

1333-478: The judge to render the verdict, this still applies). In the American civil legal system, the concept of directed verdict has largely been replaced by judgment as a matter of law . A general verdict is when the jury makes a complete finding and a single conclusion on all issues presented. First, the jury finds the facts, as proved by the evidence, then applies the law as instructed by the court, and finally, it returns

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1376-520: The last resort for criminal procedure; a case can still be appealed to the Constitutional Court if related laws or the ruling itself is considered in violation of the Constitution . Verdict In law , a verdict is the formal finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge . In a bench trial , the judge's decision near the end of the trial

1419-407: The prosecution has closed its case, the defendant may move for a directed verdict. If granted, the verdict will be "not guilty". The prosecution may never seek a directed verdict of guilty, as the defendant has a constitutional right to present a defense and rebut the prosecution's case and have a jury determine guilt or innocence (where a defendant has waived their right to a jury trial and allowed

1462-424: The prosecution has the burden of proving the defendant's guilt on every element of each criminal charge beyond a reasonable doubt. To do so, the prosecution must present compelling evidence that leaves little real doubt in the mind of the trier of fact (the judge or jury) that the defendant is almost certainly guilty. For any reasonable doubt to exist, it must come from insufficient evidence, or conflicts within

1505-503: The standard of proof." In R v Wanhalla , President Young of the Court of Appeal set out a model jury direction on the standard of proof required for a criminal conviction. The cornerstone to American criminal jurisprudence is that the accused is presumed innocent until guilt is proved beyond a reasonable doubt. The US Supreme Court held that "the Due Process clause protects the accused against conviction except upon proof beyond

1548-409: The term "reasonable doubt" can be criticised for having a circular definition . Therefore, jurisdictions using this standard often rely on additional or supplemental measures, such as a judge's specific instructions to a jury, to simplify or qualify reasonable doubt. Legal systems have tended to avoid quantifying the reasonable doubt standard (for example, "over 90% probability "); legal scholars from

1591-406: The trier-of-fact to accept that the standard of proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt has been met thus entitles the accused to an acquittal . This standard of proof is widely accepted in many criminal justice systems, and its origin can be traced to Blackstone's ratio , "It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer." Because a defendant is presumed to be innocent ,

1634-405: The whole of the case, there is a reasonable doubt, created by the evidence given by either the prosecution or the prisoner, as to whether the prisoner killed the deceased with a malicious intention, the prosecution has not made out the case and the prisoner is entitled to an acquittal. No matter what the charge or where the trial, the principle that the prosecution must prove the guilt of the prisoner

1677-399: The words of William Blackstone , "The jury state the naked facts, as they find them to be proved, and pray the advice of the court thereon". Special verdicts are intended to focus the jury's attention on the important questions at hand. The judge forced a special verdict in the famous 1884 case of R v. Dudley and Stephens , which established a precedent that necessity is not a defence to

1720-485: Was appealed after the judge had said to the jury, "You must be satisfied of guilt beyond all reasonable doubt." The conviction was upheld; but the Appeal Court made clear their unhappiness with the judge's remark, indicating that the judge should instead have said to the jury simply that before they can return a verdict of guilty, they "must be sure that the defendant is guilty". The principle of "beyond reasonable doubt"

1763-537: Was expounded in Woolmington v DPP [1935] UKHL 1: Juries are always told that, if conviction there is to be, the prosecution must prove the case beyond reasonable doubt. This statement cannot mean that in order to be acquitted the prisoner must "satisfy" the jury. This is the law as laid down in the Court of Criminal Appeal in Rex v. Davies 29 Times LR 350; 8 Cr App R 211, the headnote of which correctly states that where intent

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1806-459: Was intended to protect the jurors from committing a potentially mortal sin, since only God may pass judgment on man. The idea was to ease a juror's concern about damnation for passing judgment upon a fellow man. Since there is no formal jury instruction that adequately defines reasonable doubt, and based on the origins of the doctrine and its evolution, reasonable doubt may be resolved by determining whether there exists an alternative explanation to

1849-475: Was introduced in the late 18th century to English common law, thereby allowing jurors to more easily convict. Therefore, the original use of the "reasonable doubt" standard was opposite to its modern use of limiting a juror's ability to convict. Juries in criminal courts in England and Wales are no longer customarily directed to consider whether there is reasonable doubt regarding a defendant's guilt. A 2008 conviction

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