The rule in Browne v Dunn applies in criminal proceedings but with considerable care and circumspection, and does not apply in the same manner or with the same consequences as in civil litigation. Where defence counsel breaches the rule, the trial judge has a range of discretionary responses including recalling witnesses, restricting closing submissions, giving directions to the jury, or discharging the jury. A breach does not necessarily cause a miscarriage of justice — the court must assess the nature and extent of the breach, the trial judge's response, and whether the breach prejudiced the accused's chance of acquittal. In sexual offence cases involving multiple counts against the same complainant, verdicts of guilty on some counts and not guilty on others are not inconsistent where the conviction counts have distinctive corroborating evidentiary features absent from the acquittal counts.
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