Gerard Hutch loses bid to dismiss Regency murder charge

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

Gerard Hutch’s bid to dismiss the murder charge against him was refused by the Special Criminal Court on 15 July 2022. The court was presided over by Ms Justice Tara Burns, sitting with Judge Sarah Berkeley and Judge Marie Keane.

Hutch is charged with murdering David Byrne at the Regency Hotel on 5 February 2016. His lawyers argued that preventing a Section 4E application because he had been charged directly before the Special Criminal Court would result in unequal treatment, while the prosecution said the provision was unavailable to him.

The judges held that Section 4E required an accused to have been sent forward for trial from the District Court and refused to examine the application further. The case was adjourned until 3 October, when the report said the trial was due to begin.