A prosecution case cannot be permanently stayed simply because it is weak; the test requires that the case be clearly and inevitably doomed to failure. Where the prosecution case depends on inferences from video evidence, the court must take the prosecution case at its highest and ask whether there is evidence — even if tenuous or inherently weak — capable of supporting the relevant inferences. Potential harm to jurors from viewing distressing material is not a recognised ground for a permanent stay, and prejudice to the accused from such material is ordinarily capable of amelioration by jury directions.
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