The Court of Appeal has dismissed two appeals in a civil case brought by the administrators of Thomas Nevin’s estate, ruling that the certificate of Catherine Nevin’s murder conviction is admissible as at least prima facie evidence in the proceedings.
The judgment, delivered by Mr Justice Hedigan on 7 March 2016, concerned appeals against two High Court orders. One appeal challenged an order allowing the conviction certificate to be admitted in the civil case. The other challenged the refusal of a stay on the hearing of the plaintiffs’ motion. The court said the stay appeal had become moot and dismissed it.
The proceedings seek declarations about whether Ms Nevin may inherit from her husband’s estate and damages for wrongful death. The plaintiffs rely on section 120 of the Succession Act 1965, which can preclude a person found guilty of specified offences from taking a share in another person’s estate. Ms Nevin denied involvement in her husband’s death and said she continued to challenge her criminal conviction.
The Court of Appeal agreed with the High Court President, Mr Justice Kearns, that the conviction certificate could be admitted despite being technically hearsay. It also held that the certificate was admissible at common law as a public document, because it records a matter of public nature and was prepared by a court registrar in the exercise of a public duty.
The court stressed the limits of its decision. Whether the conviction was conclusive or only prima facie evidence, and whether it satisfied the burden under section 120(1), had not been argued before it. The plaintiffs had asked only for the certificate to be admitted as prima facie evidence. The court also found it unnecessary to decide an argument about the wording of sections 120(1) and 120(4), while agreeing that an apparent anomaly would be better addressed by legislation.