Director of Public Prosecutions -v- Hayes and O'Leary [2014] IECCA 5 (31 January 2014)

Director of Public Prosecutions -v- Hayes and O'Leary [2014] IECCA 5 (31 January 2014)

The Court held that the conviction was unsafe due to procedural irregularity, not evidential insufficiency, and that the interests of justice, given the seriousness of the offence and absence of specific prejudice, favoured directing a retrial.

Citation
[2014] IECCA 5
Parties
Prosecutor/respondent: Director of Public Prosecutions; Accused/appellant: Noel Hayes; Accused/appellant: William O’Leary
Jurisdiction
Ireland
Judgment Date
31 January 2014
Procedural Posture
Criminal Appeal / Post Conviction Appeal; Retrial Direction
Outcome
retrial directed
Legal Topics
Retrial, Forgery, Procedural Irregularity, Interests of Justice
Criminal Law Retrial Forgery Procedural Irregularity Interests of Justice

Case Brief

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Parties

Director of Public Prosecutions

Prosecutor/respondent

Noel Hayes

Accused/appellant

William O’Leary

Accused/appellant

Procedural Posture

Criminal Appeal / Post Conviction Appeal; Retrial Direction

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether a retrial should be directed after convictions for forgery were quashed due to procedural irregularity
  2. 2 Applicability of Griffin principle to retrial jurisdiction
  3. 3 Impact of lapse of time and evidential weakness on retrial direction

Ratio Decidendi

The Court held that the conviction was unsafe due to procedural irregularity, not evidential insufficiency, and that the interests of justice, given the seriousness of the offence and absence of specific prejudice, favoured directing a retrial.

Court Disposition

retrial directed

Orders

  • Appeal allowed; convictions quashed; retrial directed for both accused