Where the Crown invites the jury to draw an adverse inference against the accused based on the failure of defence counsel to put matters to Crown witnesses, the trial judge must give directions incorporating the caution and circumspection required by Manunta and Birks, including reference to possible explanations for the omission that do not reflect on credibility. In a perjury prosecution, the trial judge must direct the jury on the distinction between a deliberately false statement and an honest mistake, even where the possibility of mistake arises in an unusual way. A Crown prosecutor must not refer in closing address to exhibits that have been withdrawn, and must not intrude personal reactions to the accused's evidence or attribute reactions to defence counsel.
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