The Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed Liam Campbell’s applications for leave to appeal two convictions for membership of an unlawful organisation, finding that the central point he sought to raise had not been contested or decided at trial.
The appeal concerned convictions arising from alleged membership on 3 October 2000 and 29 July 2001. The trial court heard opinion evidence from a senior Garda officer, supported in the second case by evidence about Campbell’s arrest at a hotel and a stun gun found in a bag. The judgment records that the prosecution witnesses were not cross-examined on the relevant membership evidence, no defence evidence was called, and no ruling was sought on whether the 1939 Unlawful Organisation (Suppression) Order applied.
Campbell’s appeal ground asserted that the “Real IRA” was not covered by the 1939 order. The prosecution argued that this issue had not been raised at trial and that the trial court had made no finding about the Real IRA. It also submitted that the point had already been decided against Campbell in an earlier appeal concerning the 2000 charge.
Campbell’s counsel acknowledged that the earlier Court of Criminal Appeal decision had determined the point, but sought a fresh ruling that might allow an application for a certificate to appeal to the Supreme Court. Counsel said the point could not have been raised at the retrial because of that earlier decision. He also argued that the defence’s decision not to challenge the prosecution evidence had saved court time but was not equivalent to a guilty plea.
The court held that it could not decide the issue on evidence from another trial or sentencing hearing. It said an appeal court reviews the proceedings below and that the defence had neither laid the evidential groundwork nor obtained a trial ruling on the suppression order issue. It considered the decision not to contest the case a strategic choice, rather than an oversight or error that would justify raising a new point on appeal.
The Special Criminal Court had imposed four years for each offence, to run consecutively, and suspended the final 18 months of the second sentence. It treated the way the cases were conducted as equivalent to a guilty plea for sentencing purposes and credited Campbell with time already spent in custody. No appeal against sentence severity was brought.
The Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed the applications for leave to appeal in both cases. It did not determine the suppression-order question afresh in these appeals.