Mr Patrick MacEntee SC, representing Nevin, yesterday dealt extensively with the pre-trial publicity about the death of her husband during the trial.
Presenting a file of media articles to the court, he argued that there was so much adverse publicity that the trial should have been stopped "as an abuse of process".
He said the situation was compounded by the fact that gardaí had, from 1996 on, leaked "massive information" designed to condition the public, and potential jurors, to the view that Nevin had hired a contract killer to murder her husband and that the apparent robbery at her pub was phoney.
The leaking was of such a kind as to affect the administration of justice, Mr MacEntee said. There was a calculated campaign to discredit Nevin through a week-by-week revelation of the course of the Garda investigation "with a slant". Some of the information published was also inaccurate.
Mr MacEntee argued that the gardaí had no legal entitlement to leak material to the press relating to an investigation where such material was calculated to prejudge issues or to condition or influence the minds of potential jurors.
There was a real and substantial risk of bias as a result of the pre-trial publicity.
All the articles added up to a concentrated and consistent campaign to keep Nevin before the public and to run the case that the gardaí wanted to make in court.
Articles, such as one about Nevin saying a missing girl had been in her pub, were published which did not even relate to the investigation.
In refusing to adjourn beyond a few days the trial after the eventual jury (which were the third jury sworn) were empanelled, the trial judge had erred in law in not having sufficient regard to the risk that the third jury might already have been contaminated by adverse and prejudicial publicity, he said.
The hearing continues today before Mr Justice Geoghegan, presiding, with Mr Justice Quirke and Mr Justice Peart.