DPP appeal dismissed over M.B. fitness ruling

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

The Court of Appeal dismissed the Director of Public Prosecutions’ appeal against the finding that M.B. was unfit to be tried and the procedure followed afterwards. Mr. Justice Edwards delivered the court’s judgment on 1 November 2016.

M.B. faced a 56-count indictment before the Central Criminal Court, comprising 27 counts of rape and 29 counts of sexual assault against a female person, alleged to have occurred between 1994 and 2000.

His trial was due to begin in the Central Criminal Court, sitting in Cork, on 10 March 2015. The defence raised his fitness to be tried. Following a hearing that day, the judge sitting alone found him unfit.

The DPP argued that the judge had wrongly preferred defence consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr O’Connell’s evidence to that of prosecution consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr O’Neill.

The court found clear evidence supporting Dr O’Connell’s conclusion that M.B. had underlying depression. Although Dr O’Neill did not consider him depressed, there was no evidence that the suggested depression, if it existed, could not have affected his cognitive abilities as Dr O’Connell apprehended. The court found more than adequate evidence supporting Dr O’Connell’s view.

The DPP also challenged the adjournment on 11 March 2015 pending further order, without a statutory order or, alternatively, an examination by an approved medical officer at a designated centre and a report on treatment needs.

At the appeal hearing on 1 March 2016, the court indicated it would reject the first ground and reserved judgment on the second. Its November judgment rejected both grounds, holding that the trial judge had no option but to adjourn the proceedings until further order.