DPP v Vivienne O'Donovan and Another

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judge: Macken, J.
• Judgment Date: 07 November 2008
• Neutral Citation: [2008] IECCA 176
• Docket Number: 267/07 & 2/08
• Date: 07 November 2008
• Court: Court of Criminal Appeal

[2008] IECCA 176

THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEAL

Macken, J.

Budd, J.

Irvine, J.

267/07 & 2/08

DPP v O'Donovan & Duggan

Between/

THE PEOPLE AT THE SUIT OF THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

-and-

VIVIENNE O'DONOVAN AND NICOLA DUGGAN

Applicants

MISUSE OF DRUGS ACT 1977 S15A

MISUSE OF DRUGS ACT 1977 S27(3B)

MISUSE OF DRUGS ACT 1977 S27(3C)

DPP v RENALD UNREP CCA 23.11.2001 2001/8/2140

CRIMINAL LAW

Sentence

Severity - Drug offences - Whether specific and exceptional circumstances - Whether sentences unjust in all circumstances - Matters to be taken into account - Whether sentencing judge erred in principle - Whether sentences imposed unduly severe in circumstances of case - Whether sentences had adequate regard for the important factor of real possibility of rehabilitation - Whether court fell into error in principle in failing to have regard to significant mitigating factors - Whether mitigating factors should have persuaded judge to consider imposition of a suspended portion of sentence - People (DPP) v Power [2007] IECCA 75, (Unrep, CCA, 21/7/2007) and People (DPP) v Renald (Unrep, CCA, 23/11/2001) mentioned - Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 (No 12), ss 15A and 27 - Leave to appeal allowed; last two and a half years of each sentence suspended (267/2007 & 2/2008 - CCA - 7/11/2008) [2008] IECCA 176

People (DPP) v O'Donovan & Duggan

Judgment of the Court (ex tempore) delivered on the

Macken, J.

1 The court is in a position to deliver judgment in relation to this case without having to reserve its judgment. This is a case in which a relatively substantial quantity of drugs, although bearing in mind this morning's news perhaps not as large as frequently occurs, was arranged to be taken from Dublin to Cork, the details of those arrangements are not important to the judgment that this court is about to deliver. The appeal is an appeal against sentence and before us are two of the three young ladies who were involved in this transportation transaction. In the ordinary course of events having regard to the value of the drugs in question s.15(A) of the Misuse of Drugs Act1977 as amended would apply, and it is appropriate that the court should read out what s.15(A) says in its relevant portion which is 3(b) as follows:

"Where a person is convicted of an offence under s.15(A) the court shall in imposing sentence specify as the minimum period of imprisonment to be served by that person a period of not less than ten years imprisonment."

2 However s.15(A)(3)(c) goes on to provide as follows:

"Subsection 3(b) of this section shall not apply where the court is satisfied that there are exceptional and specific circumstances...