Editing Double jeopardy (section)

=== Canada ===

The [[Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms]] includes provisions such as [[Section Eleven of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms|section 11(h)]] prohibiting double jeopardy. However, the prohibition only applies after an accused person has been "finally" convicted or acquitted. [[Canadian law]] allows the prosecution to appeal an acquittal based on legal errors. In rare circumstances, when a trial judge made all the factual findings necessary for a finding of guilt but misapplied the law, a [[court of appeal]] might also directly substitute an acquittal for a conviction. These cases are not considered double jeopardy because the appeal and the subsequent conviction are deemed to be a continuation of the original trial.

For an appeal from an acquittal to be successful, the [[Supreme Court of Canada]] requires the [[Crown of Canada|Crown]] to show that an error in law was made during the trial and that it contributed to the verdict. It has been argued that this test is unfairly beneficial to the prosecution. For instance, in his book ''My Life in Crime and Other Academic Adventures'', [[Martin Friedland]] contends that the rule should be changed so that a retrial is granted only when the error is shown to be ''responsible'' for the verdict, not just a factor.

Though the charter permits appeals of acquittals, there are still constitutional limits imposed on the scope of these appeals. In ''Corp. Professionnelle des Médecins v. Thibault'', the Supreme Court struck down a provision of [[Quebec]] law that allowed [[appellate court]]s to conduct a [[Standard of review#De novo|''de novo'']] review of both legal and factual findings. In doing so, it held that the scope of an appeal may not extend to challenging findings of fact where no legal error has been made. At this point, the court reasoned, the process ceases to be an appeal and instead becomes a new trial disguised as one.

A notable example cited by critics of Canada's appeal system is the case of [[Guy Paul Morin]], who was wrongfully convicted in his second trial after the acquittal in his first trial was vacated by the Supreme Court. Another notable use of the system occurred in the case of child murderer [[Guy Turcotte killings|Guy Turcotte]], the [[Quebec Court of Appeal]] overturned the initial verdict of [[insanity defense|not criminally responsible by reason of mental disorder]] and ordered a second trial after it found that the judge had erroneously instructed the jury. Turcotte was later convicted of second-degree murder in the second trial. Another well-known example is [[Henry Morgentaler]], whose repeated acquittals by juries were overturned on appeal in multiple provinces.