Courts / Longford / Report

Drug-driver fails in bid to overturn conviction based on omission of word 'or' in legislation

Summary

A man from Longford has failed in his bid to overturn a drug-driving conviction at the Court of Appeal. Patrick Clyne was convicted by Longford District Court on 5 March 2019 of drug driving, receiving a twelve-month driving ban and a €250 fine. He was arrested at a Garda checkpoint on Market Street, Granard on 29 January 2018 after testing positive for cocaine. A blood sample subsequently revealed a concentration of 515.2 milligrammes per millilitre of cocaine. Clyne appealed on the basis that the arresting Garda had not properly applied section 13B(1) of the Road Traffic Act 2010, arguing that the omission of the word "or" in the legislation required multiple tests before a blood sample could be lawfully taken. The Court of Appeal, presided over by Ms Justice Úna Ní Raifeartaigh, rejected this interpretation, finding no ambiguity in the relevant statute and confirming that fulfilling any one of the prescribed conditions was sufficient.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Drug-driver fails in bid to overturn conviction based on omission of word 'or' in legislation. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

• March 5, 2019 Hearing Or Sentence
• January 29, 2018 Incident
• 2020-09-30 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Drugs Road Traffic Stage Appeal

Related court reports

• Shillelagh attacker has prison term more than doubled
• Inmate further jailed for attack on officer in women's prison
• Farmer accused of stealing waste flour was unfairly dismissed, WRC rules
• Garda officer subject to false allegation wins promotion delay case
• Senior garda subjected to false accusations over dog shooting challenges promotion issue
• Woman sat on fellow prisoner during assault

Read the original CNI report