Law Weblog

R v Wang (2003) CA – Can a judge direct a jury to convict?

Saturday 20 December 2003 at 1:13 pm | In News | Post Comment

[Juries –  judge’s direction to convict]
D, a Chinese asylum seeker had a curved sword for practicing the martial art Shaolin which was a branch of Buddhism at deserted places. The judge held that this was not a good reason for possessing a bladed instrument and directed the jury to convict because the matters raised did not amount to a defence. 

Held: The judge was justified in directing the jury to convict. There were a numebr of reasons including the fact that there was no religious requirement. The HRA is not affected.

Guilty
Comment: The court refused the defendant leave to appeal to the House of Lords but certified that the following point of law of general public importance was involved in its decision: ‘In what circumstances, if any, is a judge entitled to direct a verdict of guilty?’. This is the second time this month that this issue has been raised, see R v Kelleher (this page).