Corporal Michael Foley

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Court: Courts-Martial Appeal Court
• Judge: Blayney J.
• Judgment Date: 15 February 1993
• Neutral Citation: 1998 WJSC-CMAC 7227
• Docket Number: 4CM/92
• Date: 15 February 1993

CORPORAL MICHAEL FOLEY

CORPORAL MICHAEL FOLEY

Appellant

1998 WJSC-CMAC 7227

4CM/92

THE COURTS-MARTIAL APPEAL COURT

Blayney J.

1 This appeal has been very fully presented by Mr. de Bruir on behalf of the appellant, Corporal Michael Foley. Corporal Foley pleaded guilty to the offence of assault, occasioning actual bodily harm. He was fined £300, which subsequently was reduced, by Corporal Foley's commanding officer, to £150.

2 One of Mr. de Bruir's main submissions to us is that the effect of this fine is to produce a totally unfair and inequitable consequence because Corporal Foley, who has been in the army for twenty-one years and who has an excellent record, having nothing on his records since 1976 and had only two minor matters before that. The effect of a fine of £150 is that Corporal Foley will now automatically be rated as unsatisfactory, that his term in the army will come to an end next month and that because his ratings are unsatisfactory he will be ineligible to engage in the army again. He submits that this Court should take into account the fact that the consequences, which such a fine would have, were not made known to the solicitor, who was defending Corporal Foley, but more importantly, were not put before the Court so that the Court-Martial in deciding what was the appropriate sentence would be aware of the effect that their sentence...