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Graham Dwyer gets date to appeal murder conviction

Summary

Graham Dwyer, convicted of the 2012 murder of Elaine O'Hara, has secured a December 1 date to appeal his conviction in the Court of Appeal. Dwyer's legal team, represented by Brian Gageby BL, stated they are finalizing submissions to argue that his conviction should be quashed following a recent Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruling. The CJEU determined that the indiscriminate retention of mobile phone data for criminal investigations breaches EU law. This data was central to the evidence against Dwyer, used to track his movements and contacts with O'Hara. Mr Justice George Birmingham, President of the Court of Appeal, set the hearing date but warned it could change if submissions are not filed this week. Dwyer, a 49-year-old architect, was convicted by a jury at the Central Criminal Court in 2015. He had previously appealed on the grounds that the use of mobile phone metadata under the 2011 Communications (Retention of Data) Act was unconstitutional and breached his privacy rights. While the High Court ruled in his favor, the State appealed, leading to the CJEU referral. In a separate recent case, Mr Justice Tony Hunt rejected similar arguments in the trial of Wayne Cooney, who was convicted of murdering Jordan Davis, stating that EU privacy rights do not trump considerations in serious crime investigations. The matter remains at the appeal stage, with the hearing scheduled for December 1.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Graham Dwyer gets date to appeal murder conviction. Procedural stage: appeal. Findings: Convicted

When:

• August 2012 Hearing Or Sentence
• December 1 Hearing Or Sentence
• August 22, 2012 Hearing Or Sentence
• May 2019 Hearing Or Sentence
• 2022-07-25 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Appeal Violent Crime

Read the original CNI report