People (Attorney General) v Byrne
| Jurisdiction | Ireland |
| Judgment Date | 01 January 1976 |
| Date | 01 January 1976 |
| Docket Number | [No. 45 of 1973] |
| Court | Court of Criminal Appeal |
(C.C.A.)
The People (Attorney General)
and
Byrne
Jury to be satisfied of guilt beyond reasonable doubt - Witnesses - Duty of prosecution.
In charging the jury at a criminal trial, the judge must inform them that to support a conviction they have to be satisfied of the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt; it is helpful if the judge contrasts that degree of proof with the standard applicable in a civil action. It is also essential that the jury should be told that the accused is entitled to the benefit of any doubt and that where two views on a matter are justified they should adopt the view which is favourable to the accused unless the prosecution has established the conflicting...
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40 cases
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DPP v Hannaway, Shannon, Hannaway, Nooney, O'Brien
...reject that notion. In doing so we acknowledge and accept the “two views” rule, set forth in the seminal case of People (A.G.) v Byrne [1974] IR 1, which is to the effect that where two views on any part of the case are possible on the evidence, the tribunal of fact should adopt that which......
- DPP v Byrne
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DPP v Fergal Cagney
...discussed in the Court of Criminal Appeal (the judgment is that of Kenny J.) in The People (Attorney General) v. Douglas Byrne [1974] IR 1. The Court followed the High Court of Australia arriving at the following formulation, on p.9: "The correct charge to a jury is that they must be satis......
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DPP v Fergal Cagney
...discussed in the Court of Criminal Appeal (the judgment is that of Kenny J.) in The People (Attorney General) v. Douglas Byrne [1974] IR 1. The Court followed the High Court of Australia arriving at the following formulation, on p.9: "The correct charge to a jury is that they must be satis......
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1 books & journal articles
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The Chaos of Reasonable Doubt
...and to Marc Tiernan. Last and foremost, to David Byrne LLB (Dubl) read this article first. All errors remain the author’s own. 1 Woolmington v DPP [1935] AC 462, at 481 [hereinafter Woolmington]. 2 [1935] AC 462. 3 As much is evident from recent incidents such as the collapse of the Vicky P......