Courts / Dublin / Report

Special Criminal Court won't hear Monk's bid to dismiss Regency murder charge

Summary

The Special Criminal Court has ruled that Gerard 'The Monk' Hutch's application to dismiss the murder charge against him under Section 4E of the Criminal Procedure Act of 1967 cannot be heard in the non-jury court. The court determined that Section 4E is only applicable when an accused is sent forward for trial from the District Court, and as Mr Hutch was charged directly before the Special Criminal Court, the application is not available to him. The ruling followed submissions from defence counsel Brendan Grehan SC, who argued that the literal interpretation of the section would result in unequal treatment for Mr Hutch compared to those charged in the District Court. The court rejected the argument that the section should be interpreted in a purposive manner, stating that the literal meaning reflects the intention of the Oireachtas. The matter was adjourned until October 3, with all parties agreeing that there was nothing else to attend to before the trial date. Jonathan Dowdall, Patrick Dowdall, Paul Murphy, and Jason Bonney are also charged in relation to the murder of David Byrne, but their cases remain at the appeal stage with no finalisation yet.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Special Criminal Court won't hear Monk's bid to dismiss Regency murder charge. Charges or matters: murder of David Byrne; participating in or contributing to activity intending to facilitate the murder of David Byrne. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

• September 29 2021 Hearing Or Sentence
• February 5, 2016 Incident
• October 3 Adjournment
• April 2021 Incident
• February 4, 2016 Other
• February 2016 Hearing Or Sentence
• September 14 Incident
• August 12, 2021 Incident
• 2022-07-15 Publication

Why: Defence counsel Brendan Grehan SC, for Mr Hutch, said last week that it would be an "extraordinary situation" and an "absurd interpretation" of Section 4E of the Criminal Procedure Act of 1967 if the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) could deny his client "the obvious benefit" of bringing the application simply because he was charged in the Special Criminal Court and not the District Court. Prosecution account reported by CNI

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Appeal Violent Crime

Related court reports

• Stardust survivor left 'aghast' at government redress scheme
• Bulgarian national stole €11k from heavily pregnant woman just one week after arrival in Ireland
• 'Far from peripheral' - Regency getaway drivers fail to have sentences reduced
• Hapless robber dropped phone, cash at raid scenes
• Regency getaway drivers say prison sentences were too high
• Dealer who told mother he'd get 'junkies' to rape her son over drug debt gets 10 years

Read the original CNI report