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criminal trial must require is described in 9 Halsbury
Xhxxxż "Laws of England" p.588, para.1190 "A jury must be
"satisfied....that the facts were such as to be inconsistent
"with any other rational conclusion than that he" (1.e. the
accused) *was th guilty person".
to it
The duty of the trial judge is to see that the
verdict of the jury is given, after proper instruction in
their functions, not in the field of supposition and e njecture
but of facts and inference. He may recognise that the jury
have before them a choice of siternative inferences all of
which may be reasonable and he must explain to them the
principles of seclection which should guide them but he must
not constitute himself a judge of fact in their place.
The indictment submitted to this jury was in fact supporte d
by oogent - I would evenɛay, by convincing evidence,
The
jury in this case eam
witnesses and I have not sem them.
But in these proceedings I have not been invaded by any doubt
that the verdict of the jury may not have been both rationally,
and to their minds necessarily, given.
In my opinion the evidence f Zimmern and Christie,
which we are asked to reject, was rightly admitted and the
case for the Crown was properly left to the jury.
The verdict must in my view be allowed to stand.
(d) J.R.Wood.
Puisne Judge.
12.9.32.