In the context of a jury trial, the term unsafe verdict refers to a judicial finding that a jury's guilty verdict is unsafe and should be overturned.
Unsafe means that the verdict or conviction was not based on reliable evidence and is likely to constitute a miscarriage of justice.
Criminal appeals made on the ground that the jury's guilty verdict was unsafe and unsatisfactory have been some of the most controversial legal cases in Australia.
The currently applied test is whether the guilty verdict was "open to the jury" to be satisfied of the accused's guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
[3] However, unsafe verdicts are now an established ground of appeal for criminal cases in England and Wales.