A trial judge's direction that there is no evidence supporting the defence case, when there is evidence — however thin — capable of supporting it, deprives the accused of their defence and will likely occasion a substantial miscarriage of justice. A direction to the jury to 'put aside' or 'push aside' disbelieved aspects of a witness's evidence is erroneous where the witness's credibility is pivotal, because disbelief — particularly a finding of deliberate untruth — may found an inference that the truth would be harmful to the witness's position. Section 44F of the Jury Directions Act 2015 (Vic) does not restrict party submissions about the effect of credibility findings across charges.
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