Ruaidhrí Giblin

People attending the courts have been asked to wear face coverings by the most senior judges in Ireland. The direction was given by the president of the Court of Appeal today, and follows a similar direction to politicians using Leinster House and the Convention Centre yesterday in an attempt to sto

Courtroom benches are being measured to determine whether the three-judge Court of Appeal can physically sit again while maintaining social distancing. The criminal division of the three-judge court usually sits in courts 16 and 22 of the Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ) building on Dublin’s P

A senior barrister was forced to pick up the phone in front of three judges yesterday, as courts continue to adapt to the coronavirus pandemic with remote hearings. Michael Delaney SC was in the middle of making a complex legal argument before the “virtual” Court of Appeal when an office

A failure by Russian authorities to respond to the High Court’s concerns about prison conditions and fair trial rights in Russia has resulted in the immediate “termination” of an extradition request. Igor Khatlamadzhiyev, 47, was wanted for a number of alleged thefts and robberies

A senior judge has said there is no reason why non-jury trials cannot proceed in the Special Criminal Court when many other upcoming court cases have been placed in doubt over the coronavirus crisis. Mr Justice Tony Hunt, presiding in the three-judge court yesterday, was speaking about the upcoming

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Claire Loftus, paid a visit to the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin yesterday to observe the operation of the courts during the coronavirus crisis. There were 24 High Court bail applications listed for hearing before Ms Justice Mary Rose Gearty on Thursday, w

The courts should not shy away from starting at five years' imprisonment when it comes to sentencing individuals for “high-end” cases of assault causing harm, according to the Court of Appeal. Mr Justice George Birmingham, president of the Court of Appeal, made the observation after thre

The Court of Appeal has reserved its judgment on the latest legal bid by the family of Séamus Ludlow to compel the State to reinvestigate his 1976 murder by "loyalist extremists". Mr Ludlow’s nephew, Thomas Fox, is seeking to have the State establish two commissions of inquiry into the

The Court of Appeal has rejected an “unusual” argument that a man’s alcoholism diminished his responsibility for murdering an ex-girlfriend, but added that the issue may need to be explored in the future. Michael McDonald, a 56-year-old alcoholic, had admitted killing 31-year-old B

The Court of Appeal has reserved its judgment on whether to alter the sentence of a man who was jailed for three years after raping his wife, who asked a judge not to send him to prison. The 38-year-old man was found guilty following a trial at the Central Criminal Court of raping and sexually assau

The Court of Appeal has reserved judgment in an appeal based on the "unusual" argument that a dependency on alcohol can diminish a person's responsibility for murder such that juries should be allowed to find them guilty of manslaughter. The “unusual” argument was made in the case of Mic

A judge in the Court of Appeal has said it was "almost inconceivable" that one of Ireland's most experienced criminal trial judges would simply forget to instruct the jury on the presumption of innocence in a rape trial. Mr Justice John Edwards yesterday quashed the conviction of Mohamed Okda, 33, w

Struck-off solicitor Michael Lynn has lost his latest legal challenge ahead of a trial next year for alleged theft of almost €30 million. Mr Lynn, 50, is due to stand trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court next year on 21 counts of stealing the money from seven financial institutions.

A detective found guilty of harassing a State solicitor by sending abusive letters and emails has lost an appeal against her conviction. Eve Doherty, 50, was found guilty by a jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court of harassing State solicitor Elizabeth Howlin between September 2011 and March 2013. M

A man convicted of possessing explosives and making hoax bomb threats has failed in an appeal against his conviction which focused on his Irish language rights during the trial. Lawyers for Dónal Billings, 67, whose trial at the non-jury Special Criminal Court was heard in both Irish and Engl