The Court of Appeal has dismissed Daniel Kelly’s appeal against five convictions arising from a high-speed van pursuit in County Limerick in 2016. The court rejected his arguments that the trial judge rushed a decision on whether an endangerment count should go to the jury and failed to present the defence case fairly in the jury charge.
Kelly was convicted by a jury at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court on 5 October 2020 of damaging property, one count of endangerment and three counts of dangerous driving. The trial judge had directed an acquittal on a separate endangerment count. Kelly received a two-year prison sentence on the remaining endangerment count, with driving disqualifications; concurrent six-month sentences were imposed on the dangerous-driving counts. The property-damage count was taken into consideration when sentence was imposed.
The convictions followed events on 8 August 2016. Gardaí pursuing a white Vauxhall van said it was driven at high speed through several areas, struck a patrol car and repeatedly reversed towards other patrol vehicles. The van eventually entered a field near Donaghmore Church, where the driver left it and ran. Gardaí identified Kelly as the driver. The appeal court said the defence had accepted that Kelly was a passenger in the van but disputed that he was driving.
On the first appeal ground, the defence argued that the trial judge had pressed for an application to stop the second endangerment count before the prosecution case had formally closed, inhibiting counsel’s intended submissions. The Court of Appeal said the submissions that counsel had allegedly been prevented from making were not specified. It found counsel had been able to assert Kelly’s rights and could have renewed the application after any remaining evidence. As no further evidence relevant to that count was heard, the court rejected the ground.
The second ground concerned the lack of forensic examination of the van for DNA or other trace evidence. Defence counsel had argued to the jury that forensic testing could have helped assess whether Kelly had been in the driver’s seat. In his charge, the trial judge told jurors there was no fingerprint or DNA evidence and directed them to decide the case on the evidence presented, including Garda identification evidence.
The appeal court found the jury had heard the defence argument in strong terms and said the judge was right to caution against speculation. It also noted that no requisition had been raised about the charge at trial. The court found no unfairness or error and dismissed the appeal against all five convictions.