Where the prosecution case on a circumstantial charge consists of a web or pattern of facts from which the jury is invited to infer guilt, rather than a chain of sequential reasoning with indispensable links, the principles in Shepherd v The Queen do not require the trial judge to direct the jury that any particular fact must be established beyond reasonable doubt. The question whether s 80 of the Constitution precludes the application of ss 61 and 62 of the Jury Directions Act 2015 (Vic) to federal indictable offences remains open.
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