A trial judge's summing up must contain a fair and balanced identification of the issues and the respective cases for the Crown and the accused; it is insufficient to characterise the defence case as relying 'in essence' on one element (such as a police interview) when defence counsel has advanced multiple substantive arguments including challenges to witness credibility, duty of care and causation. The failure of defence counsel to object to the summing up at trial does not preclude a successful appeal where the failure cannot be explained by tactical advantage and the summing up fell far short of giving the jury a fair opportunity to consider the defence case. Caution should be exercised before directing a jury that inculpatory statements in a police interview should be given more weight than exculpatory statements, particularly where the statements are mixed and complex.
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