Courts / Ireland / Report

Man acquitted of robbing pensioner by direction to face retrial

Summary

In July 2022 the Court of Appeal ruled that a trial judge had erred by excluding an informal identification parade from evidence in a case where a 38‑year‑old man had been acquitted of robbing a pensioner. The judge had directed a jury to acquit after refusing to allow the parade, which had taken place at Portarlington Garda Station. The man had declined a formal line‑up, so an informal one was arranged without his knowledge, involving seven men walking with a Garda. The defence argued the parade was unfair because the accused spoke to a Garda while walking past the victim. The Court of Appeal found the speaking did not affect the identification, which had already occurred, and dismissed the argument that the suspect should have been told a parade would be set up if he refused. The Director of Public Prosecutions had appealed the acquittal under Section 23 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2010.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Man acquitted of robbing pensioner by direction to face retrial. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

• May 2021 Hearing Or Sentence
• 2022-07-29 Publication

Why: During the trial, the man's lawyers argued that the garda line-up in which he was identified was inadmissible because the defendant had not been informed that he was participating in a parade at Portarlington Garda Station. CNI source report

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Appeal

Read the original CNI report