The Queensland Court of Appeal has reserved its decision in an appeal against a District Court judge's decision to drop child sex charges against convicted pedophile Dennis Ferguson.
Ferguson, 60, who did not appear in court on Tuesday, had been due to stand trial in the Brisbane District Court over allegations he sexually assaulted a young girl.
However, earlier this month, Judge Hugh Botting ordered a permanent stay of proceedings, saying in part that Ferguson's notoriety would prevent him getting a fair trial.
Director of Public Prosecutions Tony Moynihan, on behalf of Queensland Attorney-General Kerry Shine, on Tuesday argued Judge Botting failed to give sufficient weight to the court's power to ensure a jury would disregard adverse pre-trial publicity.
Ferguson's barrister Peter Callaghan SC told the Court of Appeal that it was "disingenuous" to expect potential jurors to ignore pre-trial publicity surrounding the case in order to return a fair verdict.
He said the internet made it very easy for jurors to uncover details of past convictions, and added that they could not, in this case, be trusted not to make their own inquiries about Ferguson's background.
"Pre-trial publicity can have the effect of making a fair trial impossible," he told the court.