Background: In a history book about witchcraft prosecutions in Tudor and Stuart England, author described how an Assize works, and mentioned
examinations of the accused taken before the Justices of the Peace were read to the jury, if they were evidence for the Crown
It seems that "evidence for the Crown" was a law term used in that historical period. But I've been searching on google for a couple of hours, and only found out that "evidence for the Crown" is a synonym of king's evidence/queen's evidence/crown's evidence. However, no dictionary gives further explanation.
Any relevant information would be appreciated. Thanks!
In British and Commonwealth courts, criminal cases are titled as, for example, "R vs Smith". The "R" stands for Rex or Regina depending on whether either a King or a Queen currently holds the throne. In either case "evidence for the crown" simply means "evidence for the prosecution", since the prosecution is acting on behalf of the crown.
If the case is titled "Smith vs R" then it is an appeal.