DPP v Walsh

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judge: O'Donnell J.,MacMenamin J.,Finlay Geoghegan J.
• Judgment Date: 25 January 2019
• Neutral Citation: [2019] IESCDET 10
• Court: Supreme Court
• Date: 25 January 2019

[2019] IESCDET 10

THE SUPREME COURT

DETERMINATION

O'Donnell J.

MacMenamin J.

Finlay Geoghegan J.

THE PEOPLE AT THE SUIT OF THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

AND

STEPHEN WALSH

APPLICANT

APPLICATION FOR LEAVE TO APPEAL TO WHICH ARTICLE 34.5.3° OF THE CONSTITUTION APPLIES

RESULT: The court extends time for the bringing of this application and refuses leave to the applicant to appeal to this court from the Court of Appeal.

REASONS GIVEN:

ORDER SOUGHT TO BE APPEALED

COURT: Court of Appeal

DATE OF JUDGMENT OR RULING: 7 th April, 2017

DATE OF ORDERS: 7 th April, 2017

DATE OF PERFECTION OF ORDERS: 30 th June, 2017

THE APPLICATION FOR LEAVE TO APPEAL WAS MADE ON 6 th December, 2017 AND WAS NOT IN TIME.

General Considerations

1 This is an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court from the decision of the Court of Appeal in Director of Public Prosecutions v. Walsh [2017] IECA 111, (Unreported, Court of Appeal, 7 April 2017). The application is filed concurrently with Application Nos. 162 and 163 of 2017 ( [2019] IESCDET 8 and [2019] IESCDET 9 (‘the companion cases’) respectively, and this determination should be read together with the determinations in those cases. The general principles applied by this court in determining whether to grant or refuse leave to appeal are by now well known. Furthermore, the application for leave filed and respondent's notice are published along with this determination, subject only to any redaction required by law. Accordingly, both the facts and law can be set out in summary form in this case.

2 On 10 November 2011, the applicant was found guilty by a jury in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on two counts of sexual assault contrary to s. 2 of the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act 1990, two counts of the attempted defilement of a child under the age of 15 contrary to s. 2(2) of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006, one count of defilement of a child under the age of 15 contrary to s. 2(1) of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006, two counts of the attempted defilement of a child under the age of 17 contrary to s. 3(2) of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006, and four counts of defilement of a child under the age of 17 contrary to s. 3(1) of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006.

3 On 20 December 2011, the applicant was sentenced to ten years imprisonment with the final two years suspended on each of the sexual assault counts. He was further sentenced to twelve years imprisonment on each of the counts of defilement or attempted defilement of a child under the age of 15, with the last two years...