Special Court for Sierra Leone, Taylor Trial, Rule 98 Pleadings

Taylor Trial

Special Court for Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

English

April 2009 marked the halfway point in the case of Prosecutor v. Charles Taylor at the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL). Pursuant to Rule 98 of the SCSL Rules of Procedure and Evidence, Trial Chamber II heard oral submissions from the parties on a motion for acquittal brought by Counsel for the Accused. The Defense is entitled to bring this motion at the close of the Prosecution’s case-in-chief. The premise underlying a Rule 98 motion is that the Prosecution has failed to present evidence sufficient to support a guilty verdict for one or more of the alleged crimes in the indictment. A successful Rule 98 motion may, in theory, result in a total acquittal for the accused before the Defense opens its case. Alternatively, where the Court finds some counts supported by evidence, and others unsupported, a Rule 98 motion can help the Defense narrow down the scope of the charges it must answer. Thus, Rule 98 provides the Court with a useful tool by which it can shorten the length of a trial, as warranted by the evidence presented.