DPP v Ian Morrison

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judge: Finnegan J.
• Judgment Date: 16 June 2008
• Neutral Citation: [2008] IECCA 88
• Docket Number: 22/2008
• Court: Court of Criminal Appeal
• Date: 16 June 2008

[2008] IECCA 88

COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEAL

Finnegan J.

Budd J.

Hanna J.

22/2008

DPP v Morrison

THE PEOPLE (AT THE SUIT OF THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS)

.v.

IAN MORRISON

APPLICANT

MISUSE OF DRUGS ACT 1977 S15A

DPP v CORBALLY 2001 1 IR 180

AG v BYRNE 1974 IR 1

DPP v CRONIN 2003 3 IR 377

DPP v WALLACE UNREP CCA 30.4.2001 2001/8/2212

DPP v KIELY UNREP CCA 21.3.2001 2001/8/1883

CRIMINAL LAW

Bail

Appeal - Bail pending hearing of appeal -Jurisdiction of court to grant bail -Strength of grounds of appeal -Likelihood of success on appeal -Refusal of trial judge to respond to requisition at trial -Whether presumption of innocence adequately explained in judge's charge - People (DPP) v Corbally [2001] 1 IR 180 distinguished; People (Attorney General) v Byrne [1974] IR 1, People (DPP) v Cronin [2003] 3 IR 377, People (DPP) v Wallace (Unrep, CCA, 30/4/2001) and People (DPP) v Kiley (Unrep, CCA, 21/3/2001) considered - Bail refused (22/2008 - CCA - 6/6/2008) [2008] IECCA 88

People (DPP) v Morrison

Finnegan J.

1 This is an application for bail pending the hearing of an appeal before this court, the applicant for bail, Liam Morrison, having been convicted of an offence pursuant to section 15A of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1997. He was sentenced to a term of ten years imprisonment. That section carries with it a minimum term of imprisonment of ten years with some exceptional circumstances which may lead to a reduction in that. However the main circumstances which would lead to a reduction in the sentence, in the event that the appeal against conviction which is in place here is unsuccessful, are co-operation with the Gardai and an early plea of guilty, neither of which factors are present in this case. In these circumstances insofar as the appeal is against sentence it is unlikely that the sentence could be served by the time the appeal comes on for hearing in this court which it is anticipated will be in Michaelmas Term. In those circumstances one matter referred to inCorbally does not arise, that is that the sentence would be substantially served by the time the appeal came on for hearing.

2 The jurisdiction of this court to grant bail pending appeal was considered inDirector of Public Prosecutions v Patrick Corbally [2001] 1 I.R. 180 where it was held that bail should be granted notwithstanding that the applicant comes before this court as a convicted person if the interests of justice require it either because of the apparent strength of the applicant's grounds of appeal or the impending expiry of the sentence or some other special circumstance. Essentially this case turns on the first of those matters mentioned which is a consideration, not a thorough investigation or examination, but consideration in a reasonably succinct manner of the strength of the grounds of appeal.

3 Counsel for the applicant relies on an affidavit of the applicant's solicitor Gerard McGovern and extracts from the notice of appeal. Two substantial grounds are relied and which he says are of sufficient weight and seriousness and have a sufficient likelihood of success to justify this court granting bail pending the hearing of the appeal.

4 The first ground relates to the charge of the learned trial judge and his refusal to respond to a requisition in relation to one aspect of the charge. The portion of the charge in question appears at page 40 of the transcript of the 17^th January 2008 and the extract relied on is as follows:

"The fact that there might be two...