Where a jury convicts on some counts and acquits on others in a multi-count sexual offence trial, the verdicts are not inconsistent if the acquittals can be explained by the jury's lack of satisfaction that the acts in the acquitted counts occurred at all, rather than by any inconsistency on the question of consent. A trial judge who intersperses arguments favourable to the Crown within the presentation of the defence case approaches the borderline of fairness but does not necessarily render the summing up unfair, provided the comments are moderate and the jury is reminded that factual determinations are for them.
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