Court of Appeal ruling means robbery accused will face second trial

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

A 38-year-old man who was acquitted of robbery will face a second trial after the Court of Appeal ruled on 29 July 2022 that the trial judge was wrong to exclude an informal identification parade. The man cannot be named for legal reasons.

He was accused of robbing an elderly woman of her pension and holiday money at the back door of her home. It was alleged that he followed her home before taking her purse. He was acquitted of the robbery charge in May 2021 after the trial judge excluded the identification evidence and directed the jury to acquit him.

At trial, his lawyers argued that the parade at Portarlington Garda Station was inadmissible because he had not been told he was taking part. He had refused a formal line-up, so gardaí arranged an informal one without his knowledge. His defence argued that it was unfair because he spoke to a garda as he walked past the alleged victim, unlike the other participants.

Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, delivering the judgment of the three-judge Court of Appeal, said his speaking was not significant because the identification had already taken place. She also dismissed an argument that he should have been told an informal parade would be arranged if he refused a formal one.

The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed the acquittal under Section 23 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2010. At an earlier hearing, Michael Delaney SC, for the DPP, said the woman recognised the accused before he spoke and that CCTV and clothing fibres provided corroborating evidence. The man will be returned for trial at a later date.