DPP v Brennan

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judge: Mr. Justice Barron
• Judgment Date: 01 January 1992
• Neutral Citation: 1992 WJSC-HC 241
• Docket Number: 96JR/1991,[1991 No. 96JR]
• Court: High Court
• Date: 01 January 1992

1992 WJSC-HC 241

THE HIGH COURT

96JR/1991

DPP v. BRENNAN

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

APPLICANT

AND

DISTRICT BERNARD BRENNAN

RESPONDENT

AND

JASON CAWLEY AND CHRISTOPHER CAWLEY

NOTICE PARTIES

1 Judgment of Mr. Justice Barrondelivered on the 20th day of December 1991

2 This is an application for an Order of Certiorari to quash certain Orders of the Respondent made at Elphin District Court in the County Roscommon on the 8th January 1991 dismissing charges of malicious damage and burglary as against each of the notice parties.

3 The Circumstances of the case are as follows. TheNotice Parties were arrested in the early hours of the 2nd January 1991 on suspicion of having committed malicious damage to the plate glass window of a shop premises at Goff Street Roscommon. The arrest was pursuant to the provisions of Section 30 of the offences against the Estate Act 1939. Following their arrest they were detained at Roscommon Garda Station and in the course of that detention made written statements after caution admitting their involvement in the commission of the malicious damage and of a burglary at the same premises. They were visited in custody by their Solicitor at 4.30 p.m on the 2nd January 1991. At 5.30 p.m on the same day the Detective Sergeant in charge of the case sought to have a special Court held. Unfortunately the Respondent who was the only District Justice assigned to the particular District Court area was unavailable. In these circumstances the two Notice Parties were released from custody at 11.50 p.m and rearrested at 11.55 p.m at common law on suspicion of having committed a felony to wit burglary. They were then immediately charged with the offences of burglary and malicious damage and were brought before the District Court at Strokestown on the following morning at 11 a.m. The Defendants Solicitor was not present in Court and the two accused were remanded in custody to a sitting of the Court at Elphin on the 8th January 1991 with consent to bail. They did not obtain bail and appeared in Elphin District Court on the 8th January 1991. Both accused elected to have their cases dealt with summarily and both indicated that they would plead guilty to the charges againstthem.

4 Before anything further was done in the case theaccused's Solicitor arrived in Court and apologized for his absence from the Court at Strokestown on the 3rd of January 1991. Before any evidence was called he addressed the Court and made certain submissions the nature of which are not completely clear from the Affidavits which have been sworn in this matter. However it is clear that he objected to the conduct of the police in two main respects:-

5 (1) In that they failed to bring the accused before a Court as soon as possible after they had been charged;

6 (2) In that they sought to prevent...