In R. v. R.L. (Ont CA, 2025) the Ontario Court of Appeal illustrates the interesting (and apparently widely-recognized) concept of a judge 'self-instructing' in a judge-only trial - akin to a judge instructing a jury on the law:
[7] The trial judge began her reasons by summarizing the evidence, the fundamental legal principles that govern a criminal trial, and the positions of the parties. The Crown takes no issue with these aspects of the reasons. We note that the trial judge’s self-instruction on the basic legal principles of the presumption of innocence, the Crown’s burden of proof, the meaning of the reasonable doubt standard of proof, and how the reasonable doubt standard is to be applied in cases that turn on credibility is comprehensive and free from error. Importantly, she instructed herself on the principles from W.(D). and that the assessment of conflicting versions of events is not to be approached as a credibility contest.
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