Courts / Mayo / Report

Retrial for man following doubts over majority jury verdict

Date
2016-02-01
Stage
Appeal
Primary locality
Erris
County
Mayo

Summary

A man from Erris, County Mayo, will face a retrial following the Court of Appeal's decision to quash his careless driving conviction. Brendan Hegarty, aged 51, had been convicted at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court of careless driving causing serious injury arising from a road traffic incident on the N59 near Ballina on 14 October 2013. He had been fined €5,000 and disqualified from driving for twelve months. Mr Hegarty appealed his conviction, challenging whether proper statutory procedures governing majority jury verdicts had been followed. The Director of Public Prosecutions subsequently advised the Court of Appeal that it would not be defending the conviction. Mr Justice George Birmingham, sitting with two colleagues, found sufficient doubt over the majority verdict to quash the conviction and ordered a retrial. The original incident involved a collision between a Volkswagen Transporter van driven by Mr Hegarty and a Ford Transit van driven by another motorist.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Retrial for man following doubts over majority jury verdict. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

Places mentioned

Residence
Journey Or Route
Court Venue
  • Castlebar
  • Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court
  • Court of Appeal

Topics

Road Traffic Stage Appeal

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