The boundary between permissible judicial intervention in a criminal trial and intervention that results in an unfair trial is not capable of clear definition; it is a matter of balance, degree and judgment assessed in the context of the whole trial. A trial judge who goes beyond mere clarification by questioning witnesses does not automatically render the trial unfair, but should preferably achieve clarification by directing counsel's attention to evidential ambiguities rather than questioning witnesses directly. The imposition of a single sentence for multiple indictable offences is impermissible where the Crown proceeds by way of indictment.
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