A permanent stay of criminal proceedings on the basis of evidentiary weakness requires demonstration that the prosecution is 'foredoomed to fail' due to an 'incurable vice' — a test far more stringent than a no-case submission. Where the alleged deficiency concerns an evidence-dependent issue and the Crown case has not yet been presented, the stringent test for a permanent stay cannot ordinarily be satisfied from review of witness statements alone; the proper procedure is a no-case submission at the close of the Crown case.
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