wrong dooer

[adajane52]

judges are supposed to be able to tell when a person who has been acccused of doing wrong is guilty not innocent of thier crime and lets them off . why do we have judges as they are no good at their job

[Ethel]

In the UK we need proof to convict. Any number of people may 'know' x has done it, but without being able to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, he will not be convicted and will be declared innocent.

[Archburner]

Also, if a Judge deems, after hearing all the evidence, that a person is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in his own mind, he can direct the Jury to find the defendant guilty. It works the other way round too i.e. to direct him/her innocent.

[jake-the-peg]

However if a Judge directs a jury to return a guilty verdict they are not obliged to do so.

A case in point was the prosecution of Clive Pontin who leaked the deatils of the Belgrano. The Jury returned "not guilty" despite the Judge's Direction.

Such cases are known as "Perverse verdicts"