User:Serial Number 54129/Michael Connolly case
Background
Michael Connolly, from Dundalk.[1]
Arrest and trial
During Connolly's Section 2 interviews,[note 1]
Trial
Held before the Special Criminal Court, Dublin.[1]
On 16 December 2019, Connolly pleaded not guilty to membership of a proscribed organisation, "styling itself Oglaigh na hEireann, otherwise the Irish Republican Army, otherwise the IRA".[1]
The prosecution alleged that Connolly had been observed driving as part of a convoy by the garda. When stopped, the other car was found with two homemade bombs.[1]
The defence requested the court to assess the material used by the Assistant Commissioner to come to the conclusion he did. As a result, the court ordered the defence be provided with a hitherto undisclosed document, related to Connolly's attendance in court; this formed part of the evidence that O'Sullivan used to make his decision.[1]
Appeal
Connolly's appeal was heard before Mr Justice Paul Coffey presiding alongside Judges Sinéad Ní Chúlacháin and James Faughnan.[1]
The defence argued that O'Sullivan's opinion as Connolly's membership was not based on an impartial assessment of events prior to the 2014 trial, but also included material that had arisen as a result of the trial. This, they argued, breached guidelines against double counting.[1]
Judgment and release
Coffey's judgement indicated the court found issue with the evidence of Assistant Commissioner Michael O’Sullivan's evidence. This, Coffey said, did not convince them that his evidence was sufficiently impartial of the evidence upon which the prosecution otherwise relied.[1]
Coffey stated that "We cannot have the confidence that we would need beyond a reasonable doubt that the Assistant Commissioner did not base his belief on the events of December 16". [1]
It was the prosecution's duty, when using police evidence in such a way, to ensure that they could prove the officer in question understood the double-counting guideline.[1]
Implications
Notes
- ^ This refers to section 2 of the Offences against the State Act, 1998, which lays down the procedure for drawing inferences from silence while interrogating those accused of membership of illegal groups.[2]
References
Bibliography
- OASA (1998). "Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act, 1998". Irish Statute Book. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- O'Riordan, A. (24 June 2019). "Louth Man Acquitted of IRA Membership After Judges Ruling". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.