Courts / Meath / Report
12-year sentence for cannabis possession set aside in case that raised "important question" for drugs offences
Summary
The Court of Appeal set aside a 12‑year prison sentence imposed on Stephen Geraghty, 50, for possession of €4 million worth of cannabis and €350 000 of cocaine. Geraghty had pleaded guilty to the two offences in 2011, but the Director of Public Prosecution accepted that errors had been made in the sentencing. The appeal centred on whether a second offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act, amended in 2007, could be convicted when the defendant had not yet been convicted of the first offence. The court held that a mandatory minimum sentence for a second offence requires a prior conviction, and that the 2007 amendment could not apply retrospectively to Geraghty's case. The court therefore vacated the sentence and will impose a new one on 15 December. Geraghty was not present at the hearing and is suffering from a terminal illness. The decision will be fully reasoned in a reserved judgment at a later date.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: 12-year sentence for cannabis possession set aside in case that raised "important question" for drugs offences. Charges or matters: possession of cannabis worth over €4,000,000 for sale or supply at Nutstown, Clonee on November 27 2003 and possession of €350,000 worth of cocaine for sale or supply in Lucan on May 30 2004; both and received his conviction for both on the date of his arraignment. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- November 27 2003 Incident
- May 30 2004 Incident
- December 13 2011 Incident
- November 2003 Incident
- May 2004 Incident
- September 2004 Incident
- February 2 2010 Incident
- December 15 Incident
- 2003 and 2004 Incident
- 2014-12-01 Publication
Why: The court had reserved judgment on Geraghty's appeal last month because the case raised what Ms Justice Mary Finlay-Geoghegan described as an "important question of construction" regarding the act. CNI source report
Case subjects
Appellant
Charges: possession of cannabis worth over €4,000,000 for sale or supply at Nutstown, Clonee on November 27 2003 and possession of €350,000 worth of cocaine for sale or supply in Lucan on May 30 2004; both and received his conviction for both on the date of his arraignment (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Geraghty was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment by Judge Martin Nolan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on December 13 2011. Ms Justice Finlay-Geoghegan, who sat alongside Mr Justice Gerard Hogan and Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan, said the Court was satisfied by reasons of errors in law that there was an error in principle in the sentence imposed on Geraghty and in the circumstances the court was required to aside and vacate the sentence imposed.; The court had reserved judgment on Geraghty's appeal last month because the case raised what Ms Justice Mary Finlay-Geoghegan described as an "important question of construction" regarding the act.
Places mentioned
- Court of Appeal
- Dublin
- Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
- Neilstwon Drive
Topics
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