LEGAL PRINCIPLE: CRIMINAL LAW – Evidence – Use of Discredited Evidence
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
Where a trial court disbelieves the evidence of a witness and discharges one accused due to doubt, an appellate court cannot use the same discredited evidence to convict a co-accused.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
Per Mohammed, JSC, in Adele v. State (1995) NLC-411994(SC) at p. 6; Paras D–E.
"Where a trial court, in a joint criminal trial, disbelieved the evidence of a witness and, because of doubt, discharged one of the accused standing trial before it, an appeal court will be in error to use the same discredited evidence, on the same facts, in order to find conviction for a co-accused."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
Evidence discredited against one co-accused cannot be used against another. The appellate court errs by relying on discredited evidence. The principle applies to joint trials. The court must apply the same standard of proof to all accused. If the evidence is unreliable, it cannot support any conviction. The rule protects co-accused from inconsistent verdicts. The prosecution cannot pick and choose which accused to convict based on the same evidence. The court will set aside convictions based on discredited evidence. The principle promotes consistency in criminal trials.