The State (Bowes) v Fitzpatrick

JurisdictionIreland
Judgment Date01 November 1978
Neutral Citation1990 WJSC-HC 2993
Date01 November 1978
CourtHigh Court

1990 WJSC-HC 2993

THE HIGH COURT

BOWES (State) v. FITZPATRICK
THE STATE (BOWES)
v
SUPERINTENDENT FITZPATRICK

Synopsis:

CRIMINAL LAW

Arrest

Validity - Garda - Suspicion - Scheduled offence - Commission - Murder weapon - Damage - Detention of suspect - Suspicion of malicious damage to property - Enquiry into legality of detention under Constitution - Release of suspect ordered - Offences Against the State Act, 1939, s. 30 - Constitution of Ireland, 1937, Article 40 - (1978/601&2 - Finlay P. - 1/11/78)

|The State (Bowes) v. Fitzpatrick|

1

JUDGEMENT OF THE PRESIDENT (Delivered 1st Nov,1978)

2

I am satisfied I must deal with this matter now. A detention which would continue to be lawful if this were a valid arrest would only continue for another 24 hours approximately and I cannot reserve judgment on it and I am satisfied that I have a duty when called upon to do so to inquire into the bona fides of an arrest under section 30 of the Offences Against The State Act, 1939, and the bona fides could be destroyed in several ways. The first of those is that there could be no suspicion that an offence scheduled under that Act had been committed. That is not the instant case and there were grounds for believing that in the course of an alleged murder and by the method by which the person who is believed to have committed that murder did commit it, inevitably damage was caused to the murder weapon and that technically constitutes the offence of malicious damage. The offence of malicious damage is one of the offences scheduled under the Offences Against The State Act, 1939and, by what appears to be somewhat of a legal anomaly, murder, a very grave offence, is not a scheduled offence under the Act. In those circumstances I am satisfied on the evidence given before me that the arrest of the accused under Section 30 of the Offences Against The State Act, 1939, which on the candid evidence of Detective Sergeant Maguire was ultimately or in reality for the purpose of enabling him to be interrogated in respect of the alleged murder was only made on suspicion of the commission of theoffence of malicious damage was a colourable device to bring what is in reality and in plain truth a murder investigation with in the ambit of Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act, 1939.The Court of Criminal Appeal, of which I was a member in the case of the Director of Public...

To continue reading

Request your trial
7 cases
  • Stephens v Governor of Castlerea Prison
    • Ireland
    • High Court
    • September 20, 2002
    ...FOR THE PURPOSES OF PART III OF THE EXTRADITION ACT 1965) ORDER 1994 SI 221/1994 ART 6 BOWES, STATE V SUPERINTENDENT FITZPATRICK 1978 ILRM 195 TRIMBOLE, STATE V GOVERNOR OF MOUNTJOY PRISON 1985 IR 550 1 Justice Finlay Geoghegan delivered on 20 September 2002. 2 On this inquiry under Artic......
  • DPP v Quilligan and O'Reilly
    • Ireland
    • Supreme Court
    • January 1, 1987
    ... ... (6/12/85) disapproved - Part IV and Part V of Act of 1939 examined - Offences Against the State Act, 1939, ss.30, 36, 46, 52 - (367/85 - Supreme Court - 25/7/86) - [1986] IR 495 - [1987] ... STATUTORY INTERPRETATION 1984 P577 BLACK-CLAWSON V PAPIERWERKE 1975 2 WLR 513 BOWES, STATE V FITZPATRICK UNREP FINLAY 1.11.78. CHARITABLE TRUSTS (VALIDATION) ACT 1954 S1(1) ... ...
  • Kevin Braney v Ireland and the Attorney General
    • Ireland
    • Supreme Court
    • February 12, 2021
    ... ... úirt Uachtarach The Supreme Court Detention – Offences Against the State Act 1939 s. 30 – Constitutionality – Appellant seeking judicial review – Whether the ... The State (Bowes) v Fitzpatrick [1987] ILRM 195 is an example of the former – the defendant in that case had ... ...
  • Desmond v Glackin
    • Ireland
    • High Court
    • February 25, 1992
    ...LAW 2ED 86 DE SMITH ADMINISTRATIVE LAW 4ED 235 MURRAY, IN RE 1987 NIJB 1 MERRICKS V NOTT-BOWER 1964 1 AER 717 BOWES, STATE V FITZPATRICK 1978 ILRM 195 MURPHY V GREENE 1990 IR 566 EAST DONEGAL LIVESTOCK MARTS V AG 1970 IR 315 COMPANIES ACT 1990 S9 CENTRAL BANK ACT 1942 S31 OFFICIAL SECRETS A......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT