The Supreme Court has dismissed appeals by Sandra Maguire and Thomas Brennan concerning warrants committing them to prison after they failed to appear for their Circuit Court appeals. The Court held that the Circuit Court could strike out an appeal and affirm the District Court order without rehearing the evidence when an appellant did not attend to prosecute the appeal.
The judgment, delivered by Justice Dunne on 8 February 2019, also held that a committal warrant need not state that a judge considered community service as an alternative to a prison sentence. The Supreme Court further ruled that an omission from Mr Brennan’s warrant referring to his non-appearance was a technical error that could be corrected and did not invalidate the underlying order.
Ms Maguire had been convicted of stealing clothing valued at €23.50 and sentenced to three months’ imprisonment in September 2015. She did not appear when her appeal came before the Circuit Court in January 2016. Her counsel sought an adjournment, but the judge refused and affirmed the District Court order. The Supreme Court judgment records that Ms Maguire was an in-patient at Connolly Hospital on the hearing date, a fact then unknown to her solicitor, the prosecuting garda and the Circuit Court.
Mr Brennan had received a total of nine months’ imprisonment for road traffic offences. He also failed to appear for his Circuit Court appeal. The High Court had found his warrant defective and ordered his release because it described the appeal as having been heard but did not record that he was absent and the appeal had been struck out. The Court of Appeal reversed that decision.
The Supreme Court agreed with the Court of Appeal that a Circuit Court judge had jurisdiction to strike out an appeal and affirm the District Court order when the appellant did not attend. It said the Circuit Court was not required in those circumstances to rehear the prosecution evidence or reconsider sentence. The Court’s ruling addressed the powers of the Circuit Court when an appellant fails to prosecute an appeal; it did not determine that every absence justifies striking out an appeal.
On community service, the Court held that the absence of a recital on a committal warrant did not make it invalid. It said the Circuit Court in these cases was affirming the District Court orders, rather than imposing a freshly considered sentence. The Court also said Mr Brennan’s warrant could have been clearer, but the omission was a correctable technical slip because the Circuit Court’s underlying order was within its jurisdiction.
The Supreme Court dismissed both appeals. The judgment noted that an application to reinstate Ms Maguire’s appeal might have been considered favourably once her hospitalisation became known, depending on the circumstances; it did not decide such an application.