science

No case to answer

No case to answer is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand No case to answer rather than just read about it. In short: No case for the defendant to answer (sometimes shortened to no case to answer) is a term in the criminal law of some Commonwealth states, whereby a defendant seeks acquittal without having to present a defence, because of the insufficiency of the prosecution's case. The motion is infrequently used in civil cases where the defendant asserts that the plaintiff's case is insufficient to prove liability.

Key takeaways

No case to answer belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect No case to answer to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of No case to answer from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

No case for the defendant to answer (sometimes shortened to no case to answer) is a term in the criminal law of some Commonwealth states, whereby a defendant seeks acquittal without having to present a defence, because of the insufficiency of the prosecution's case. The motion is infrequently used in civil cases where the defendant asserts that the plaintiff's case is insufficient to prove liability. At the close of the prosecution's case during a criminal trial, the defendant may make a motion that there is no case for the defendant to answer (similar to a motion for a directed verdict in a United States court). If the judge agrees, then the matter is dismissed and the defendant is acquitted without having to present any evidence in their defence. If the judge does not accept the submission, the case continues and the defence must present their case. Because a judge's refusal to uphold such a submission may potentially bias a jury's decision, a submission of no case to answer is usually heard in the absence of the jury.

England and Wales

General test The general approach to be followed was described by Lord Lane CJ:

There will of course, as always in this branch of the law, be borderline cases. They can safely be left to the discretion of the judge. In a trial in the Crown Court, a submission by counsel that there is no case to answer is heard in the absence of the jury. A submission may be made at the close of the prosecution case or at a later stage.

Application in identification cases

When, in the judgment of the trial judge, the quality of the identifying evidence is poor, as for example when it depends solely on a fleeting glimpse or on a longer observation made in difficult conditions (for example, in bad weather, poor lighting or in a fast moving vehicle), the judge should withdraw the case from the jury and direct an acquittal unless there is other evidence which goes to support the correctness of the identification.

Application in confession cases

See MacKenzie (1992) 96 Cr App R 98.

Application where it is not clear which crime has been committed Where it is clear that an accused has committed an offence but it is impossible to say which offence was committed, neither crime can be left to the jury. Similarly, where it is possible to say that one defendant definitely committed a crime, but it is not possible to say which defendant, both must be acquitted unless, following the evidence, they could properly both be convicted under the doctrine of joint enterprise.

Application where part of the evidence is silence

There may be no conviction based wholly on silence and the judge must withdraw a case from the jury if the only evidence tendered by the prosecution is the defendant's silence in interview.

Malaysia In the Malaysian Syariah Court (a sharia civil court), after the plaintiff has offered their evidence, the defendant may make a submission to the court that there is no case to answer.

Scotland The procedure is governed by section 97 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, which states that:

(1) Immediately after the close of the evidence for the prosecution, the accused may intimate to the court his desire to make a submission that he has no case to answer both—

(2) If, after hearing both parties, the judge is satisfied that the evidence led by the prosecution is insufficient in law to justify the accused being convicted of the offence charged in respect of which the submission has been made or of such other offence as is mentioned, in relation to that offence, in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) above, he shall acquit him of the offence charged in respect of which the submission has been made and the trial shall proceed only in respect of any other offence charged in the indictment. (3) If, after hearing both parties, the judge is not satisfied as is mentioned in subsection (2) above, he shall reject the submission and the trial shall proceed, with the accused entitled to give evidence and call witnesses, as if such submission had not been made. (4) A submission under subsection (1) above shall be heard by the judge in the absence of the jury.

Sri Lanka In a criminal trial, the prosecution has to prove the case against the accused beyond the reasonable doubt. According to the section 200(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, when there is no evidence to prove the case levelled against the accused, then the court has to record a verdict of acquittal without calling accused's defence. In the case The Attorney-General v. Baranage (2003) 1 Sri.L.R 340 has explained whether on what stage the court is entitled to make an order in accordance with aforesaid section. In this case The Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka has stated that "if no reasonable person can place any reliance on such evidence, then it is a situation where there is no evidence."

See also Directed verdict Judgment as a matter of law

Notes

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with No case to answer

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what No case to answer claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to No case to answer before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about No case to answer ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of No case to answer

In research: No case to answer appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses No case to answer in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: No case to answer is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Criminal procedure, Evidence law, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for No case to answer outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study No case to answer in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what No case to answer means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain No case to answer out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is No case to answer in simple terms?

Why does No case to answer matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study No case to answer?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on No case to answer.