Under s 253B of the Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic), a plea of guilty entered on arraignment constitutes a finding of guilty at that moment, and no jury verdict is required to clear the indictment in respect of that charge. Where defence counsel inadvertently places before the jury highly prejudicial material that the Crown had deliberately not led, and that material fundamentally undermines the central plank of the defence, no judicial direction can cure the prejudice and the only appropriate remedy is discharge of the jury. The proviso cannot be applied where the Crown case, though strong, is not so overwhelming that conviction was inevitable absent the prejudicial material.
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