DPP v Forbes

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judge: O'Flaherty J.
• Judgment Date: 01 January 1994
• Neutral Citation: 1993 WJSC-SC 1854
• Docket Number: [S.C. No. 4 of 1993]
• Court: Supreme Court
• Date: 01 January 1994

1993 WJSC-SC 1854

THE SUPREME COURT

Finlay C.J.

O'Flaherty J.

Egan J.

Blayney J.

Denham J.

(4/93)

DPP v. FORBES

IN THE MATTER OF SECTION 16 OF THE COURTS OF

JUSTICE ACT, 1947

AND IN THE MATTER OF A CASE STATED IN RELATION TO

A PROSECUTION:

DIRECTOR OF PUBLICPROSECUTIONS

Prosecutor

.v.

WILLIAM FORBES

Defendant

Citations:

ROAD TRAFFIC ACT 1961 S49

ROAD TRAFFIC ACT 1961 S49(6)

ROAD TRAFFIC (AMDT) ACT 1978 S10

DPP V CORRIGAN 1986 IR 290

DPP V MCCREESH 1992 2 IR 239

COURTS OF JUSTICE ACT 1947 S16

Synopsis:

CONSTITUTION

Personal rights

Dwelling - Entry - Force - Prohibition - Private property - Entry - Motorist - Motorist arrested in driveway of private property - Property not owned or occupied by arrested motorist - Valid arrest - (4/93 - Supreme Court - 26/5/93)- [1993] ILRM 817

|Director of Public Prosecutions v. Forbes|

CRIMINAL LAW

Arrest

Validity - Place - Private property - Motorist - Entry - Garda Siochana - Powers - Arrest without warrant - Arrest effected on property neither owned nor occupied by arrested motorist - Valid arrest - Road Traffic Act, 1961, s. 49 - (4/93 - Supreme Court - 26/5/93)- [1993] ILRM 817

|Director of Public Prosecutions v. Forbes|

GARDA SIOCHANA

Powers

Arrest - Place - Private property - Entry - Motorist - Property not owned or occupied by arrested motorist - Valid arrest - (4/93 - Supreme Court - 26/5/93)- [1993] ILRM 817

|Director of Public Prosecutions v. Forbes|

1 JUDGMENT of O'Flaherty J.delivered on the 26th day of May, 1993. [NEMDISS]

2 This is a case stated to the Supreme Court pursuant to Section 16 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1947by his Honour Judge Deery. The question submitted for the determination of the Court is:-

3 Whether in a prosecution under section 49 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961, as amended, where a garda arrests adefendant under section 49(6) of the said Act on private property, which is not owned or occupied by the defendant, the said arrest is unlawful and invalidates any further evidence obtained on foot of the saidarrest.

Background facts

4 The case sets out the background facts and I can summarise them as follows. The defendant, William Forbes, was convicted at Ballymahon District Court on the 4th October, 1991 in respect of a complaint brought by the Director of Public Prosecutions that on the 18th March, 1991 at Creevaghbeg, Ballymahon, Co. Longford, he drove a motor car in a public place while there was present in his body a quantity of alcohol which exceeded a concentration of 100 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, contrary to section 49 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961as inserted by section 10 of the Road Traffic (Amendment) Act, 1978.

5 Thereafter, he brought an appeal which came before the learned Circuit Court judge on the 18th March, 1992. Evidencewas given by Garda John D. Brennan that on the 18th March he was on mobile traffic patrol duty accompanied by Garda Lee and Garda Drury. At about 1.00 a.m. he approached the bridge at Ballymahon coming from the Athlone direction. He saw a motor car parked at the bridge facing towards Mullingar and, as he approached, the car suddenly took off. It turned sharp left, up a side road. He followed the car and about 60 yards up the side road it turned right into the driveway of a private house and stopped.

6 Garda Brennan left the patrol car and ran to the driver's door of the motor car. The defendant scrambled across a woman passenger who was in the front passenger seat and got out the front passenger door. Garda Brennan ran around the back of the car and caught the defendant as he ran for the road. He asked him where he was running to and the defendant shrugged his shoulders and said "nowhere". Garda Brennan asked him did he live there and the defendant said no. He was unable to explain why he drove into the driveway of the private house.

7 Garda Brennan gave evidence that he got a smell of intoxicating liquor off the defendant's breath. He formed theopinion that the defendant was incapable of driving due to the consumption of intoxicating liquor. He placed his hand on the defendant's shoulder and told him that he was arresting him under Section 49 of the Road Traffic Acts, 1961/ 78for drunken driving. The time of the arrest was 1.05 a.m.

8 Thereafter, the defendant was taken to Mullingar Garda Station and a blood sample was taken by a medical practitioner. In due course the Medical Bureau of Road Safety certified that the defendant's blood sample had a concentration of 200 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. Nothing turns on this aspect of the case.

Submission in Circuit Court

9 At the conclusion of the prosecution case counsel on behalf of the defendant submitted that the defendant was arrested on private property and should not have been arrested there but in a public place and reference was made to the cases of Director of Public Prosecutions .v. Corrigan [1986] I.R. 290 and Directorof Public Prosecutions .v. McCreesh [1992] 2 I.R. 239and, in particular, the judgment of McCarthy J. in the latter case.

10 The learned Circuit Court judge was inclined to the opinion that the defendant...