A RAPE trial in Dublin has collapsed after a judge criticised "unprecedented media coverage" in a national newspaper.
The jury at the Central Criminal Court had begun deliberating in the case but they were discharged yesterday morning.
Mr Justice Paul McDermott told them them an article had been published in the Irish Independent which juxtaposed the facts of the case with other high-profile cases.
He said it was not acceptable that a trial of this nature should be subjected to that kind of publicity.
Defence Counsel Annmarie Lawlor claimed the article amounted to an exhortation to convict her client.
Ms Lawlor said the article had been published in the context of international coverage suggesting rape trials in Ireland were conducted unfairly.
Prosecution counsel James Dwyer pointed out that Mr Justice McDermott had repeatedly told the jury to try the case on the facts heard in court and nothing else.
Mr Justice McDermott said the article went beyond the facts of the case.
He said the complainant and the accused would have to go through another trial process if a decision was made to retry the man.
