Courts / Dublin / Report

State "cleansed" jury of people from Cabra, Ballymun & Finglas, appeal lawyers claim

Date
2016-04-15

Stage
Appeal

Primary locality
Ballymun

County
Dublin

Summary

The Court of Appeal has reserved its judgment in the appeal by Joseph Warren, a Ballymun man convicted of conspiring to steal cash from Chubb Ireland at a Tesco supermarket in Cellbridge on November 2, 2007. Warren, who pleaded not guilty to the conspiracy charge, was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment in 2012, with the final three years suspended. He had previously pleaded guilty to possessing ammunition in Ballymun in 2009. His legal team argued the trial was unfair because the Director of Public Prosecutions allegedly "cleansed" the jury by excluding potential jurors from Cabra, Ballymun, and Finglas. Counsel Michael Bowman SC contended this was an unlawful, blanket ban that denied Warren a fair cross-section of peers, particularly given his defense of acting under duress. The DPP's counsel, Seán Guerin SC, countered that the exclusions were based on specific reasons or causes related to the gang's origins and the notoriety of a related shooting in Cabra, asserting that the remaining pool still provided a representative jury. The court, comprising Justices Birmingham, Sheehan, and Mahon, heard these submissions and indicated it would reserve judgment on the appeal.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: State "cleansed" jury of people from Cabra, Ballymun & Finglas, appeal lawyers claim. Charges or matters: conspiring to steal cash from Chubb Ireland at Tesco supermarket on the Shackleton Road in Cellbridge on November 2, 2007; possessing ammunition at Poppintree Park, Ballymun on July 19, 2009. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

November 2, 2007 Incident
July 19, 2009 Incident
November 14, 2012 Hearing Or Sentence
2016-04-15 Publication

Why: Lawyers for a Ballymun man jailed for his role in an attempted robbery have claimed his trial was unfair because the State "cleansed" the jury of people from Ballymun, Cabra and Finglas. CNI source report

Case subjects

Joseph Warren

Appellant

Charges: conspiring to steal cash from Chubb Ireland at Tesco supermarket on the Shackleton Road in Cellbridge on November 2, 2007; possessing ammunition at Poppintree Park, Ballymun on July 19, 2009 (Alleged Or Contested)

Plea: Not guilty