Appealing from a Not Guilty Verdict in Canada Compared to the United States

In the United States, if a jury returns a “not guilty” verdict, the prosecution cannot appeal, even if the prosecution believes that errors were made during the trial (evidence admission issues, for example). This is a consequence of the Double Jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution.

Moreover, this allows for “jury nullification”, which is where a jury acquits a defendant, even if they believe he/she committed the crime as defined in the statute, for reasons such as believing that the law is unjust.

In R v. Krieger, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected the attempt of a trial judge to preclude jury nullification in a case where a sympathetic defendant technically broke the law but, in the eyes of some members of the jury, there was a good reason for doing so. The Supreme Court held that such an attempt to preclude jury nullification is depriving the defendant of his right to a trial by jury.

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