Re O'Kelly

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judgment Date: 01 January 1974
• Date: 01 January 1974
• Court: Court of Criminal Appeal

(C.C.A.)

In re O'Kelly

Refusal of witness to answer question at criminal trial - Contempt of court - Constitution of Ireland, 1937, Article 40, s. 6.

At the trial of an accused, a journalist was called by the prosecution as a witness to give evidence about an interview that he had had with the accused; the prosecution were relying upon this evidence to establish an admission by the accused that he was a member of an illegal organisation. In his evidence the journalist said that he had an interview with a man and that he had a tape-recording of the interview; the journalist said that he was satisfied that the recording wasan authentic record of statements of a man whom the journalist named. However, when asked directly for the name of the man whom he had interviewed, the journalist refused to answer as a matter of conscience and said that it would be a breach of confidence by him to disclose the name. The trial judge found the journalist to be in contempt of court and sentenced him to three months imprisonment. On appeal against sentence it was Held by the Court of Criminal Appeal, 1, that it had not been made clear what was the confidence that the appellant felt he had been asked to break as the...