The Court of Appeal has sent Jason Murtagh’s renewed bail application back to the High Court after finding that the judge who declined to hear it had not been given enough information about why bail had previously been refused.
Murtagh was awaiting trial in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on four charges arising from alleged events on May 23, 2020. He had initially been charged under the Domestic Violence Act 2018 before further charges were added, including assault causing harm, production of a knife during a dispute and theft.
He was refused bail in the District Court and again in the High Court in July 2020. After being sent forward for trial, he made another unsuccessful application in the Circuit Court on August 31.
Murtagh then returned to the High Court. His lawyers argued that the application was an appeal from the Circuit Court and also pointed to a newly available independent surety of €1,000 as a material change in circumstances.
The High Court rejected the appeal argument and declined to rehear bail, finding that the surety did not amount to a sufficiently significant change.
The Court of Appeal agreed on the jurisdiction point. It held that the High Court has an original jurisdiction to hear bail applications. Section 28(3)(a) of the Criminal Procedure Act 1967 provides for appeals from the District Court to the High Court, but does not create the Circuit Court-to-High Court appeal claimed by Murtagh.
However, the appeal court found a separate problem. The High Court had received only limited information about the earlier refusal, including whether bail had been refused because of an alleged risk of further serious offending, witness interference, or both.
Without that information, the judge could not properly assess whether the new surety or other developments amounted to a material change going to the heart of the earlier refusal.
The appeal was therefore allowed and the issue remitted to the High Court. That court was to decide whether a sufficient change of circumstances existed and, if so, hear the bail application afresh.