State (Healy) v Donoghue

JurisdictionIreland
CourtSupreme Court
Judgment Date01 January 1978
Docket Number[1975 No. 79 SS.]
Date01 January 1978
(S.C.)
The State (Healy)
and
Donoghue

Fair procedures - Personal rights - Legal advice -Duty of court - Failure to provide legal aid - Conviction quashed on certiorari - Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act, 1962 (No. 12), s. 2 -Constitution of Ireland, 1937, Articles 34, 38, 40.

Section 2 of the Act of 1962 states that, if it appears to the District Court that the means of a person charged before it with an offence are insufficient to enable him to obtain legal aid and that, by reason of the gravity of the charge or of exceptional circumstances, it is essential in the interests of justice that he should have legal aid in the preparation and conduct of his defence, the court shall "on application being made to it in that behalf" grant him a certificate enabling him to obtain free legal aid and to have a solicitor assigned to him for that purpose. On the 12th June, 1974, the prosecutor was brought before the Children's Court upon a charge that he had broken and entered a building and had committed a felony therein. The prosecutor was a youth, aged 18 years, whose formal education had ceased when he was 13 years old and who was unable to pay for legal advice. He pleaded guilty to the charge, which was to be tried summarily, and the imposition of the sentence was adjourned on several occasions. On the 15th January, 1975, he was convicted by the District Justice who sentenced him to three months detention. The prosecutor did not apply for legal aid, nor was he informed of his right to apply for such aid; he was not represented at this trial. On the 13th December, 1974, the prosecutor was brought before the District Court upon a charge of larceny. He pleaded guilty to that charge, which was to be tried summarily, and the imposition of the sentence was adjourned; he was remanded in custody. On the 30th December he applied for, and was granted, a legal-aid certificate in respect of the larceny charge and a solicitor was assigned to him. After several adjournments the prosecutor was convicted by the District Justice on the 29th January, 1975, and was sentenced to six months detention although the prosecutor was not represented by the solicitor assigned to him or any solicitor, and although the prosecutor had sought a further adjournment for the purpose of obtaining the advice of that solicitor. During the relevant period the solicitors who had provided the services necessary for the operation of the Act of 1962 had withdrawn from the legal-aid scheme provided by...

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393 cases
  • Walsh v Min for Justice and Others
    • Ireland
    • High Court
    • 18 February 2009
    ...SI 135/1999 REG 11(5) CRIMINAL JUSTICE (LEGAL AID) (TAX CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE) REGS 1999 SI 135/1999 REG 11(6) HEALY, STATE v DONOGHUE 1976 IR 325 INTERPRETATION ACT 2005 S5 EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS ACT 2003 S2 EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS ACT 2003 S5 EUROPEAN CONVENTION ......
  • State (O) v Daly
    • Ireland
    • Supreme Court
    • 7 July 1977
    ......2 of the Act of 1962 do not apply to an enquiry held pursuant to s. 207, sub-s. 1, of the Act of 1945. The State (Healy) v. Donoghue [1976] I.R. 325 distinguished. Cur. adv. vult. . ......
  • Roche v Roche
    • Ireland
    • Supreme Court
    • 15 December 2009
    ...P.J. Carroll & Co. Ltd. v. Minister for Health and Children [2005] IESC 26 [2005] 1 I.R. 294 applied.The State (Healy) v. Donoghue[1976] I.R. 325 andMcGee v. Attorney General [1974] I.R. 284considered. 4. That since the issue of when human life began was so uncertain and not capable of reso......
  • Minister for Justice and Equality v Marjasz
    • Ireland
    • High Court
    • 24 April 2012
    ...v Brennan [2007] IESC 21, [2007] 3 IR 732; Minister for Justice v Stapleton [2007] IESC 30, [2008] 1 IR 669; State (Healy) v Donoghue [1976] IR 325; Cahill v Reilly [1994] 3 IR 547; McSorley v Governor of Mountjoy Prison [1996] 2 ILRM 331; Clarke v Kirby [1998] 2 ILRM 30; Leonard v Ga......
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26 books & journal articles
  • Towards A Presumption Of Victimhood: Possibilities For Re-Balancing The Criminal Process
    • Ireland
    • Irish Judicial Studies Journal No. 2-21, July 2021
    • 1 July 2021
    ...the authority reverts to the DPP and the victim loses carriage of the proceedings. See The State (Ennis) v Farrell [1996] IR 107. 23 [1976] IR 325. 24 See Gerard Hogan, Gerry Whyte, David Kenny and Rachael Walsh, Kelly: The Irish Constitution (5th edn, Bloomsbury Professional 2017), Ch 6.5.......
  • Subject Index
    • United Kingdom
    • International Journal of Evidence & Proof, The No. 15-4, October 2011
    • 1 October 2011
    .... . . 99,110Stanton vCallaghan [2000] QB75 . . . . . . 258–259State vRaines 857 A2d19 (Md 2004) . . . . . . . . 301State (Healy)v Donoghue [1976]IR 325. . . . . . 186Stubley vWestern Australia [2011]HCA 7 . . . 264Subramanian v Public Prosecutor [1956] 1 WLR965. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......
  • Indexes
    • United Kingdom
    • International Journal of Evidence & Proof, The No. 18-4, October 2014
    • 1 October 2014
    ...111South Australiav Totani (2010)242 CLR 1 . . 233,234State vLucas, 30 NJ37 (1959) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20State (Healy)v Donoghue [1976]IR 325. . . . . . . 53Taxquet vBelgium [2010] ECHR1806 . . . . . . . . 96Taylor vR [1978] 22ALR 599 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357Thomas vMowbr......
  • Subject Index
    • United Kingdom
    • International Journal of Evidence & Proof, The No. 12-4, November 2008
    • 1 November 2008
    .... 20Stanton v Callaghan [2000] QB 75, [1999] 2 WLR745, CA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97,101, 103State (Healy)v Donoghue [1976]IR 325. . . . . . 228State (McCormack) v Curran [1987] ILRM 225. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .220Stowe vQ......
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