Case Reports

The Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland has held that a District Judge in the Magistrates’ Courts was not correct in refusing to hear an application made by the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) asserting public interest immunity of a document sought for disclosure. Delivering the judgment of t

A former teacher awaiting prosecution for historic sexual offences against one of his pupils has lost his appeal to the Supreme Court in which he argued that his prosecution under section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 was unconstitutional. By a narrow majority, Mr Justice Donal O’D

A man who was sentenced to twelve years' imprisonment for raping and sexually abusing his step-daughter over a period of seven years has lost an appeal against his conviction. Dismissing all five grounds raised by the man, Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy found, inter alia, that the trial judge had not e

The Court of Appeal has ruled that a District Judge of the Magistrates' Court did not have the power to refuse jurisdiction and commit an accused who had already pleaded guilty to the Crown Court. Lord Justice Seamus Treacy stated that, in circumstances where the accused had already elected for summ

A former lecturer at Trinity College Dublin who was made redundant at the beginning of the 2018/2019 academic year has been awarded €6,144 after it was found that he was unfairly dismissed. Finding that the lecturer had made an almost irresistible connection between the public outcry he created

In a matter which came before the High Court by way of consultative case stated, Mr Justice Garrett Simons found that the evidential presumption of validity under s. 20(1) of the Road Traffic Act 2010 applies to a photocopy of a breathalyser statement produced pursuant to s.13 of the Road Traffic Ac

Two men who had over €8,000 seized by customs officials prior to their three-day trip to Ibiza have had their appeal dismissed in the Court of Appeal. The men, who were also found in possession of cocaine valued at over €4,000, argued that they were entitled to have the cash returned as th

A man who was involved in the violent removal of a family from their home has had his sentence increased by one year by the Court of Appeal. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed the sentence of three years with the final year suspended on the grounds that it was unduly lenient, and Mr Justic

A man who was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment has lost an appeal against the severity of his sentence. Finding the sentence to be in the same range as other sentences involving a knife, which was a substantial aggravating factor, Mr Justice Peter Charleton sai

A former law lecturer who is serving ten years' imprisonment in Arbour Hill Prison for sexual offences has successfully argued that there was a want of fair procedures in a disciplinary hearing which resulted in his phone and visitation privileges being denied for 30 days. In deciding to sanction th

A man who was sentenced to five years' imprisonment has lost an appeal against the severity of his sentence in the Court of Appeal. The man had argued that the sentencing judge had erred in identifying a headline sentence of 7 years and in his consideration of aggravating factors, however, Ms Justic

In a long-running dispute involving a former member of An Garda Síochána who complained of bullying and sexual harassment in 2009, Mr Justice Senan Allen has granted an order declaring that the former Garda cannot re-litigate claims already dealt with in the superior court but has refu

A farmer with multiple sclerosis who was told not to come back to work until he provided his employer with a letter confirming his fitness to drive has been awarded €31,000 in the Workplace Relations Commission. The man, who worked on the farm since 1993, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis i

The Information Commissioner must reconsider its decision requiring UCC to disclose records of a loan agreement with the European Investment Bank to RTÉ, after the High Court found the decision exhibited a number of errors of law. Remitting the matter to the Information Commissioner for recon

A man who was sentenced to five years imprisonment for conspiracy to import and possession with intent to supply cocaine has lost an appeal against his conviction. The man had argued that the search warrant for his flat in Dublin was invalid because it was almost identical to the original search war