Courts / Dublin / Report

Prosecutors appeal ruling of non-jury court on arrest of IRA suspects

Date
2015-06-15
Stage
Appeal
Primary locality
Tallaght
County
Dublin

Summary

In a 2015 appeal, the Director of Public Prosecutions argued that the Special Criminal Court had wrongly ruled the second arrest of Kevin Braney, aged 40, unlawful. Braney had been arrested in 1989 on suspicion of IRA membership but was never charged. He was rearrested in March 2013 for the same alleged offence. The court had held the second arrest unlawful because it considered membership offences to be continuing, but the DPP contended that each arrest arises from a distinct offence tied to time, place and circumstance. Braney's counsel, Bernard Condon, countered that a membership offence is not a single event and that the statute does not prohibit repeated arrests. The Court of Appeal, led by Justice Seán Ryan, would reserve judgment until 26 June 2015.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Prosecutors appeal ruling of non-jury court on arrest of IRA suspects. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

Why: During his trial at the three-judge Special Criminal Court, Mr Justice Paul Butler, presiding, said the arrest of Mr Braney and a number of his co-accused was not lawful because they had previously been arrested for IRA membership and should not have been rearrested for the same offence on a different date without a warrant. CNI source report

Places mentioned

Court Venue
  • Special Criminal Court
  • Court of Appeal
Residence

Topics

Stage Appeal

Related court reports

Read the original CNI report

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