Director of Public Prosecutions Reference No 1 of 2017 [2019] HCA 9

21/03/2019

The High Court has held that a trial judge may not direct a jury in a criminal trial that it is open at any time after the close of the prosecution case to acquit the accused if the jury consider the evidence is insufficient to support a conviction. Such a direction, commonly referred to as a “Prasad direction”, is not permissible under the common law of Australia.

Further, the Court held that the common law of Australia does not recognise that the jury empanelled to try a criminal case on indictment have a right to return a verdict of not guilty of their own motion at any time after the close of the prosecution case.