A trial judge who applies incorrect principles to a no case submission — such as requiring 'sufficient certainty' or evaluating alternative hypotheses favourable to the accused — commits an error of law alone, not an error of mixed fact and law, and the directed acquittal is appealable under s 107 of the Crimes (Appeal and Review) Act 2001. On the discretion to order a retrial, the court will not decline to order a new trial unless satisfied that a conviction would be overturned as unreasonable; the gravity of the offence (here, manslaughter) weighs in favour of a retrial even where it would be a third trial.
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