2016-04-20 · Dublin
Cases dropped after High Court ruling on sentencing law
In 2016 the High Court ruled that parts of Section 99 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 were unconstitutional, meaning courts could no longer activate suspended sentences when a person re‑offended. As a result, the State asked for "no order" in two cases. Sonia Eglington, 23, had been sentenced in 2013 to four years with two suspended for falsely imprisoning a recruitment agency owner and later stealing from a church box. She was released from prison last year and was due to have her suspended sentence activated, but the High Court ruling prevented it. A second case involved Karl O'Brien, 21, who had been sentenced in 2013 to four years with two suspended for mugging a UCD student. He had also been convicted of other offences in 2015 and was out on a suspended sentence when he stole from a shop. Karl O'Brien pleaded guilty.