Murphy v DPP
| Jurisdiction | Ireland |
| Judgment Date | 01 January 1989 |
| Date | 01 January 1989 |
| Court | High Court |
Evidence - Preservation - Charges related to stolen car -Judicial review - Duty of gardaí to preserve evidence material to guilt or innocence - Garda disposal of vehicle - Whether prejudice arising - Whether injunction to restrain prosecution of said charges be granted.
The applicant was charged with a number of offences arising out of an incident in April, 1987, in which it was alleged that the applicant had been driving a stolen car which was wrecked in the incident. The applicant's legal advisors informed the Gardaí on 14 May that they wished to conduct fingerprint tests upon the wrecked car which was being stored in Harcourt Terrace Garda Station. The Gardaí did not carry out any fingerprint check on their own behalf and intended to rely solely upon visual identification. On 11 June when the applicant's solicitor phoned the Gardaí requesting access to the car for the purpose of forensic inspection, he was informed by the Gardaí that the car had been given to an insurance company interested in its salvage value. The applicant sought an injunction by way of an application for judicial review to restrain the D.P.P. from proceeding with certain charges on the grounds inter alia that the disposal of the car by the Gardaí had prejudiced him in the preparation of his defence by the destruction of evidence which might have assisted him in rebutting the visual identification of the Gardaí. The respondent submitted that the applicant had been afforded an opportunity to inspect the vehicle and had failed to act within a reasonable time. Furthermore that no purpose could be served by a forensic examination long after the events and that there was no requirement in law for the prosecution to forensically examine...
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