10.4 Expert Opinion Evidence (Conflict in Opinions of Experts of Opposing Parties in Relation to an Essential Element that the Crown Must Prove)
(Last revised June 2012)
[1]There is a disagreement between (among) the expert opinions of (identify witnesses by name) about (describe briefly subject-matter of dispute).
[2]The issue on which these experts (or (NOW)s) differ is an essential element that the Crown must prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Before you accept the opinion of the Crown’s expert on this issue you must be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that s/he is correct. If you are not sure that s/he is correct, then the Crown has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that essential element of the offence charged.[72]
[72]It may be preferable to add a brief statement of the effect of a reasonable doubt on the verdict to be returned. In some cases, the result may be a complete acquittal. In others, it may only be an acquittal on the principal offence, or an exclusion of a particular basis of liability, or a conviction on a lesser included offence.