Quote:
Originally Posted by Moses
Also, if the judge has a legal right to issue the jury a "directed verdict" and he also has the authority to "set aside" a juries verdict then the whole process is a bit of a charade.
|
JNOV's are pretty rare...especially in criminal cases.
I moved for a DV once in a criminal defense case at the close of the prosecution's case as they had failed to prove a key element of the crime. Never even addressed it. Judge denied DV motion. I then had a decision on whether or not to present my defense case. I rested without putting on a defense to prevent prosecution from the chance to revisit the ommitted evidence in rebuttal. Talk about making your milk dry up.
Judge still denied second motion for DV but was forced to give a jury instruction on elements of crime and duty of the prosecution to prove every element. Jury ended up acquitting on that basis.