Established Areas of Jury Instruction

This page was last substantively updated or reviewed July 2022. (Rev. # 95801)

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Standards of Proof

Where the jury asks a question clarifying the meaning of reasonable doubt. The judge should not simply reiterate the standard of proof instructions, but should explain the difference of the standard of "balance of probabilities" and "proof beyond all doubt."

When reviewing the instructions on the standard of proof the question is "in the context of the whole charge", whether there is a "reasonable possibility that the trial judge's erroneous instruction may have misled the jury into improperly applying the reasonable doubt standard."

It is not necessary that the jury be explicitly told that "reasonable doubt" is "much closer" to absolute certainty than proof on balance of probabilities.

When reviewing the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt on a case that turns on identity, it important to couch the instructions "in terms of the frailties of eyewitness identification."

Credibility

The judge does not need to give a WD instruction or its functional equivalent in relation to every piece of evidence relied upon by the accused.

the WD instructions do not need to be recited to the jury as if it was a "magic incantation."

Circumstantial Evidence

A judge is permitted but not obligated to "outline the inferences that may or may not be available from some circumstantial evidence adduced at trial."There is no need to "catalogue all available inferences" from each piece of evidence. It is only obligation for the judge on circumstantial evidence to "clearly" explain the necessity of finding guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and how there may be more than one way to achieve the objective.

Reliability

Instructions that direct the jury to presume any incriminating parts of an accused's statement are likely true, while exculpatory statements carry less weight are known as "Duncan instructions" and should be avoided as they tend to confuse the jury.

Effect of Multiple Complainants

Where there are multiple complainants each associated with different counts and no similar fact application has been made, the judge should give limiting instructions on the use of the evidence. The judge should remind the jury that they may not use evidence relating to a particular count to determine if another count is made out. They future cannot use any of the evidence to establish bad character and a greater likelihood that the accused is guilty.

Reviewing the Evidence

A trial judge must review the evidence for the jury so that they can appreciate how the law is applied to the facts that they find. The review should be of "substantial parts" of the evidence in order to "relate it to the issues that the jury is or may be required to decide so that the jury appreciate the nature and effect of the evidence and its relationship to the defence advanced."

Substantial Review and Relating it to Issues

There is no obligation to review all of the evidence at trial, it need not be exhaustive. Also a failure to mention items of evidence will not be fatal where the omission did not constitute the sole evidentiary foundation for a defence. The extent of the review will vary from case-to-case.

There is "considerable latitude" in reviewing the evidence and relating it to the issues for the jury.

A simple "serial review" of the evidence is considered unhelpful to the jury and does not do much to "relate the evidence to the issues."

The key part of a judge's duty is to review the "substantial parts of the evidence" and explain the position of the defence to the jury. The judge should relate the evidence to the positions of the parties by reviewing the "substance of the evidence that bears on each issue and indicating to the jury which parts of the evidence support each party’s position."

In giving the instructions, the judge must relate the evidence heard at trial to the issues raised by defence. This involves first reviewing the evidence and then relating it to the position of the defence so that the jury understand the "value and effect" of the evidence. A judge will often indicate which parts of the evidence supports each parties position on particular issues.

A jury charge should not be reviewed in isolation, but rather in light of the evidence and closing arguments of counsel.

Suggested Formula

It has been suggested that a acceptable review of the evidence related to the issues was organized for each issue as:

1. identified the issue;
2. explained the legal requirements of proof;
3. summarized the essential features of the evidence that were relevant for the jury to consider in deciding the issue;
4. reiterated the Crown’s burden of proof on the issue; and
5. described the consequences of the available findings on the issue for further deliberations and for the verdict.

Miller Error on Assessing Evidence

The judge should not give instructions that cause the jury to only consider the evidence that they have found to be "true and reliable" as it does not permit the use of evidence that is neither rejected or accepted.

Strong Crown Cases

In overwhelming Crown cases, the judge does not need to ignore evidence that implicates the accused to create a balanced charge, nor does he have to "spin a web of exculpatory inferences" that stretch the available conclusions. This is particularly applicable where the defence argument is simply that the evidence does not meet the standard of proof.

The constitution requires that even when the evidence is "overwhelming" the judge cannot direct the jury to convict.

Jury Warning

A judge is permitted to provide specific warnings to the jury on certain issues of which they may not be aware of their significance. Warnings or cautions are not given because the jury is seen an uninformed or unintelligent, but rather to give them knowledge from judicial experience. The warning concerns knowledge beyond the obvious that they can discern themselves. The purpose is to “help the jury appreciate the peculiarly concerning qualities of evidence which must be evaluated with particular caution in light of those concerns”

Limited Purpose Evidence

Generally, evidence of limited admissibility must be accompanied by specific jury instructions that satisfy the following:

• identify the evidence to which they apply;
• explain the permitted use of the evidence; and
• explain the prohibited use of the evidence.

This includes evidence admitted such as bad character evidence.

A judge must provide limiting instructions on the use of prior statements of witnesses. Without instructions there is a risk that jurors "may not be aware that they cannot use such statements as substantive evidence, irrespective of the use made of the statements by counsel." We cannot safely assume jurors understand the purpose of such evidence.

Failure to give the instructions is an error of law. The issue for the appellate court on such an error is whether "any convictions ... can be sustained despite the error of law. Convictions may be upheld providing the error did not cause a substantial wrong or miscarriage of justice."

Evidence-related Instructions

To illustrate the frailties of identification evidence, a judge should not instruct a jury to close their eyes and attempt to accurately picture the person next to them.

Due to the dangers of bolstering a witnesses credibility through prior consistent statements, "a limiting instruction will almost always be required where such statements are admitted." The instruction should delineate that "consistency is not the same as accuracy" and should not be used to assess general reliability.

Submissions and instructions suggesting that a hearsay statement should be relied upon for a verdict can warrant a new trial.

Defences

The trial judge must leave every defence to the jury that is available on the facts of the case, regardless of whether the accused raises it.

Only where there is an "air of reality" that the evidence can make out the requirements of the defence. The evidential foundation does not exist where "its only constituent elements are of a tenuous, trifling, insignificant or manifestly unsubstantive nature: there must be evidence in the record upon which a properly instructed jury, acting judicially, could entertain a reasonable doubt as to the defence that has been raised."Or to put it another way, the test does not consider whether a defence is likely, somewhat likely, unlikely, or very likely. It only considers whether "there is some evidence that puts the defence in play."

An accused "should not lightly be deprived of the chance to present the defence they are relying upon, and the trier of fact can deal with the deficiencies when examining the defences of their merit.”

Even with the defence theory is inconsistent to a particular defence, such as self-defence, but the evidence presents a "coherent route…that could lead to an acquittal" on the basis of that defence that it must be put to the jury.

A charge wil not be "unfair or unbalance" only because the "trial judge did not spend an equal time reviewing the parties' evidence.

Penalties

It generally prohibited for the jury to be told about the penalties associated with the charge. They are not to concern themselves with it.

Expert Opinion Evidence

The jury instruction on experts should include:

• a description of the relationship between knowledge of a technical subject, the qualifications of an expert, and their ability to express opinions on the subject;
• a brief summary of the expert evidence adduced at trial;
• and a direction on how to assess the testimony of experts and to determine its impact on the decisions required of the jury at the end of the trial.

They should also be informed that expert witnesses should be evaluated in the same manner as any other witness and they are entitled to rely and believe as much or as little of the evidence as they see fit.

Where the expert testifies to inadmissible evidence, the jury must be instructed not to consider the evidence.

See Also

• Example Jury Instructions