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13 August 2019 / Alec Samuels
Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Criminal
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Time to start over or time to stop?

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Alec Samuels sets out the arguments in favour of & those against a retrial
  • Arguments in favour of retrial and the importance to victims.
  • Arguments against a retrial and the impact on the defendant.
  • The very unusual circumstances of a second re-trial.
  • A re-trial following the quashing of an acquittal.

The jury failed to reach a verdict. The judge is asked by the prosecution to order a retrial. How should he exercise his discretion?

The arguments in favour of retrial

The charge may have been quite serious. It would certainly have been seen as important to the victims. There may be a reasonable prospect of conviction.  The law requires a verdict, the truth should be known, one way or another, the situation calls for finality and closure. A verdict would be in the public interest. The public need to know. The victims want to know what happened, and who, if anybody, is responsible. The defendant has not been convicted, he is still ‘innocent’.

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