The High Court has dismissed Brian Flynn’s civil action against the State over alleged wrongs during his arrest in Carlow in 2002, ruling that inordinate and inexcusable delay in prosecuting the case meant the balance of justice favoured dismissal.
In a judgment delivered on 22 October 2015, Mr Justice Max Barrett said the proceedings had not come to trial more than 13 years after the events. Flynn sued in April 2005, claiming assault, false imprisonment, trespass to the person, breach of his constitutional rights and failure to vindicate those rights. The allegations were not findings that the court made about the arrest.
The judgment says several gardaí sought to arrest Flynn outside a pub in April 2002. His then girlfriend allegedly intervened. Flynn was handcuffed and brought to a Garda station in Carlow Town, where he claimed his head was struck against a door.
Justice Barrett reviewed delays by both sides. He found little major delay up to December 2007, but noted a 10-month delay by the State before an affidavit of discovery was sworn and a further six months before documents were provided in 2009. He also recorded that the State did not respond promptly to correspondence from October 2010 and took more than eight months after a notice of trial to bring its dismissal motion.
The court identified two periods of delay by Flynn: 14 months between August 2009 and October 2010, and 27 months between June 2011 and September 2013. Together, these amounted to nearly four years within the seven years before the State’s motion. The judge described the delay as inordinate and inexcusable.
Flynn’s counsel argued that the State’s delays amounted to acquiescence in his delay. The judge accepted that acquiescence was relevant to the balance of justice, but concluded the State’s conduct did not amount to acquiescence. He said the State’s delay after the notice of trial might be relevant to a later costs application.
The court weighed the public interest in allowing allegations of Garda wrongdoing to be heard against the interest of gardaí not having to wait more than a decade for actions taken in difficult circumstances to be adjudicated. It concluded that, given the delay and absence of acquiescence, the balance of justice rested with the State. The order dismissed Flynn’s proceedings both for want of prosecution and for inordinate and inexcusable delay. The judgment does not decide whether the alleged wrongs occurred.