Miscarriage of justice
2 definitions found for this term.
Definitions are presented in the order source books were published (most recent first).
An unfairness in a criminal trial that justifies an appellate court in overturning an accused’s conviction. Section 686(1) of the Criminal Code sets out three bases upon which an appeal from conviction can be granted: an unreasonable verdict, an error of law that is not harmless (see curative proviso), and a miscarriage of justice. Miscarriage of justice is the underlying principle of all three bases: the first two are specific examples.
” . . . like ‘wrongful conviction’ [the expression] can be used to describe the conviction of the demonstrably innocent . . . . But, again like ‘wrongful conviction,’ it can be and has been used to describe cases in which defendants, guilty or not, should not have been convicted.”