The Supreme Court restrained the further prosecution of Deirdre McGrath after Gardaí released a motorcycle involved in a fatal collision and it was later broken up for parts. The court found that the loss removed a reasonable prospect of evidence that could have helped rebut the case against her.
In a separate appeal, the court affirmed the High Court order in James Bowes’s case, finding that the loss of a car did not deprive him of a meaningful opportunity to answer the prosecution evidence.
The judgment, delivered by Mr Justice Hardiman on 6 February 2003, addressed the duty to preserve evidence that could be relevant to guilt or innocence. It said that duty is not absolute: whether missing evidence creates a real risk of an unfair trial depends on the circumstances, including its potential relevance and whether the defence could avoid unfairness through trial rulings.
McGrath was charged with dangerous driving causing death following a collision at Inverin, Co Galway, on 21 March 1999. The motorcyclist later died. Gardaí released the motorcycle to a dealer at the family’s request on 5 August 1999, before proceedings against McGrath began. A Garda fax in February 2000 said it had been broken up for parts.
After receiving the Book of Evidence in January 2000, McGrath’s solicitor quickly sought to arrange an examination. Her consulting engineer said the motorcycle’s condition made a useful inspection impossible. He said access could have helped assess the vehicles’ collision configuration, impact speeds, possible mechanical contribution and where on the road the collision occurred. The prosecution’s vehicle inspector doubted an examination would have provided those answers.
The court considered the prosecution case largely circumstantial and said an examination would have offered a reasonable possibility of rebutting it. It found McGrath and her solicitor had not delayed unreasonably: the request followed review of the Book of Evidence, and the bike had been released before she was prosecuted. An earlier inspection by her insurers was for a salvage valuation and took place before the prosecution case was disclosed.
Bowes faced heroin charges after Gardaí found heroin in the boot of a car he was driving in Dublin in April 2000. The car was later scrapped. His request for information about the vehicle and its destruction came days before trial, about 20 months after proceedings began. The Supreme Court said the prosecution case did not turn on the car’s technical features, and concluded that no real loss of an opportunity to rebut the evidence had been shown.
The court substituted an order restraining further prosecution of McGrath and affirmed the High Court order in Bowes’s case. It did not determine McGrath’s guilt or innocence; the order stopped her prosecution from proceeding.