A trial judge's direction that 'beyond reasonable doubt does not mean fanciful' is an error but will not be productive of injustice where the summing-up as a whole conveys that the accused is to be given the benefit of any doubt the jury considers reasonable. Defence counsel who cross-examine witnesses to elicit that the accused is not violent put the accused's character in issue, entitling the Crown to adduce rebuttal evidence of violent disposition, and where this is done as a deliberate forensic strategy, the evidence will not be excluded as unfair.
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