Rebecca Middleton murder accused Justis Smith had no case to answer.

And the appeal against the move by Puisne Judge Vincent Meerabux will be held in March -- the next sitting of the three-judge Court of Appeal.

The appeal against the result of the case against Smith was lodged yesterday.

The Crown acted on the last day possible to lodge notice of appeal -- a writ must be filed at Supreme Court within 21 days of a verdict being handed down.

Acting Attorney General, Solicitor General William Pearce -- likely to handle the appeal himself -- was yesterday staying tight-lipped over the grounds for the legal action.

But The Royal Gazette understands that the main plank of the appeal will allege that Mr. Justice Meerabux should have let the case be decided by the jury.

And lawyers from the Attorney General's Chambers will argue that the judge erred when he ruled there had been an abuse of process and that there had been insufficient evidence against Smith.

Mr. Pearce said: "In a nutshell, we will be arguing that there was no basis for withdrawing it from the jury.'' Smith, now 19, walked free from Supreme Court last month after Mr. Justice Meerabux dismissed the case.

He had been charged with the July, 1996 premeditated murder of Ms Middleton, 17, a Canadian tourist visiting the Island.

Ms Middleton's near-naked and bleeding body was found lying in the road in the early hours of the morning.

She had been raped, tortured and suffered multiple stab wounds before being left to die.

In October that year, Jamaican national Kirk Mundy pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact in the killing and was sentenced to five years in jail.

A later move by then-Attorney General Elliott Mottley -- who quit the Island only days before the Smith verdict was announced -- to have Mundy re-charged with premediated murder was knocked back all the way to Bermuda's final court of appeal, the Privy Council in London.

The circumstances of the Middleton murder inquiry prompted fury in Canada and calls for an inquiry.

Massive press coverage of the case in Canada sparked off a website called "boycottbermuda'' -- demanding justice for Ms Middleton and threatening an economic war against the Island.

Canadian visitors update: Page 5 COURT OF APPEAL COA