Submission for Verdict; Role of

Judicial Authority in Trial The judicial authority shall decide all issues of law and all questions of law arising in the trial of criminal cases. In committing the case to the jury, if in the opinion of the judicial authority the evi- dence is not sufficient to justify the finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, it may direct the jury to find a verdict of not guilty; otherwise, subject to the provisions of Section 42-40, the judicial authority shall submit the facts to the jury without directing how it is to find the facts or how it is to render the verdict. (P.B. 1978-1997, Sec. 855.)