The cost to the Legal Aid Commission of representing a legally aided accused at a lengthy joint trial, as opposed to a shorter separate trial, is a relevant factor on a separate trial application, though not a decisive one. Where an accused is charged on a separate count from co-accused and the great bulk of evidence at a joint trial relates to charges not involving that accused, a primary judge is entitled to find a real risk of positive injustice from a joint trial where the volume of evidence of doubtful admissibility against the accused creates a serious risk that the jury would be overwhelmed and use it for impermissible purposes.
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