Courts / Cork / Report
Serial burglar has sentence backdated on appeal
Summary
A man from Cork has had his sentence backdated following a successful appeal to the Court of Appeal. Nicky O'Driscoll, aged 37, of Killala Gardens, Knocknaheeny, pleaded guilty at Cork Circuit Criminal Court to burglary at Inishannon on 7 January 2014. He received a three-year sentence with the final six months suspended in May 2014. O'Driscoll appealed on the basis that the sentencing judge had been incorrectly informed of his previous convictions for burglary. Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan found the sentencing court had been told O'Driscoll had 20 previous burglary convictions when he in fact had eight among his 68 total convictions. The judge described this as a clear error in principle, though not attributable to fault on the part of the trial judge. The Court of Appeal upheld the original sentence but backdated it to 12 May 2014 to account for the misinformation. O'Driscoll was also required to enter into his own bond of €100 for 12 months.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Serial burglar has sentence backdated on appeal. Charges or matters: burglary committed at Inishannon, Co Cork on January 7 2014. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- January 7 2014 Incident
- May 12 2014 Incident
- 2015-06-11 Publication
Why: His barrister, Ronan Munro BL, told the court that O'Driscoll lost the benefit of 52 days spent in custody because he had been given a nine month sentence for burglary one month before he was sentenced for the present offence. CNI source report
Case subjects
Appellant
Charges: burglary committed at Inishannon, Co Cork on January 7 2014 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: He was sentenced to three years imprisonment with the final six months suspended by Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin on May 12 2014. Mr Justice Sheehan, who sat with Mr Justice Alan Mahon and Mr Justice John Edwards, said the Court of Appeal would uphold the sentence imposed on O'Driscoll by the Circuit Court judge.
Places mentioned
- Cork
- Cork Circuit Criminal Court
- Court of Appeal
Topics
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