localnews.ie

Courts / Louth / Report

Plausible Aaron Brady jury were worried about dying from Covid during trial, appeal lawyers argue

Date
2023-10-04
Stage
Appeal
Court
Court of Appeal
Primary locality
Louth
County
Louth

Summary

During a six‑day appeal hearing, Aaron Brady's counsel argued that the jury's deliberations were compromised by the Covid‑19 pandemic. Brady, convicted in 2020 of murdering Garda Adrian Donohoe and sentenced to life with a 40‑year minimum, claimed that jurors were worried about dying or about loved ones dying, which he said deteriorated the quality of their deliberations. The appeal focuses on defence complaints about two witnesses who testified via video link from New York during the pandemic. Brady's trial, the longest murder case in Irish legal history, lasted 122 court days and concluded with an 11‑to‑one jury verdict. The appellate court heard arguments that the trial judge should have discharged the jury, but the judge had exercised discretion to continue the case. The appeal will proceed the following day before a three‑judge panel.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Plausible Aaron Brady jury were worried about dying from Covid during trial, appeal lawyers argue. Charges or matters: murdering Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe, remained the only case at hearing as the pandemic took hold in Ireland and it was inappropriate for a jury to determine his guilt or innocence as people were dying from Covid-19, his lawyers have told the Court of Appeal; the murder of Det Gda Donohoe by an 11 to one majority jury verdict at the Central Criminal Court in August 2020. Procedural stage: appeal. Findings: Convicted

When:

Case subjects

Aaron Brady

Appellant

Charges: murdering Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe, remained the only case at hearing as the pandemic took hold in Ireland and it was inappropriate for a jury to determine his guilt or innocence as people were dying from Covid-19, his lawyers have told the Court of Appeal; the murder of Det Gda Donohoe by an 11 to one majority jury verdict at the Central Criminal Court in August 2020 (Proven)

Finding: Convicted

Outcome: Convicted; Brady, who was jailed in 2020 for a minimum of 40 years for the murder of the detective, has launched a bid to overturn his conviction in a six-day hearing, in what the appellate court heard today was "one of the longest cases ever" before it. Brady was also sentenced to 14 years for the robbery, a sentence that will run concurrently with the life sentence.; Whilst the barrister accepted that all criminal trials at hearing in March 2020 continued to finalisation, he said most of those cases had finished within two to three days. "It was a ghost town in here and we were the only case working, driving in and out of here was something like a movie set, you have to ask yourself why was this case different from all other cases," he said.

Places mentioned

Court Venue
  • Court of Appeal
  • Central Criminal Court
Residence
Facility
  • Lordship Credit Union
Secondary Mention

Topics

Stage Appeal Violent Crime

Related court reports

Read the original CNI report

Correction or retraction request

If a fact, identity, locality or legal outcome needs review, email the newsroom with this report's details prefilled.

Email a correction request