The Court of Appeal has struck down a 40-year driving disqualification imposed on Michael O’Brien at Naas District Court, describing the length of the ban as unjustifiable and outside any reasonable range.
Mr O’Brien pleaded guilty on May 9th, 2013 to using a vehicle without insurance and driving while disqualified. The District Court heard that he had 14 previous road traffic convictions, including two for driving while disqualified and five for driving without insurance.
He received four months’ imprisonment and a 40-year driving ban. The insurance charge was taken into consideration.
Mr O’Brien later sought judicial review. The High Court refused relief, leading to his appeal.
The Court of Appeal rejected his argument that the District Judge had acted unlawfully by failing expressly to state that community service had been considered. The law requires a judge considering a prison sentence of 12 months or less to consider community service, but the appeal court held that the judge did not have to recite expressly that this statutory duty had been performed. It also noted that defence lawyers could have raised community service at sentencing.
The court likewise rejected a challenge concerning legal aid. Mr O’Brien had been represented by a solicitor, and the District Judge had sought further financial documents rather than finally refusing legal aid. The application could still have been pursued retrospectively.
The appeal succeeded, however, over the 40-year driving ban. The court said a driving disqualification is principally concerned with a person’s fitness to drive, rather than being an additional punishment. While Mr O’Brien’s record justified a substantial ban, 40 years was beyond what could reasonably be imposed.
The disqualification was therefore severed from the remainder of the sentence and struck down. The four-month prison sentence and conviction remained intact. The court also rejected arguments that errors in the wording and statutory references on the conviction record invalidated the conviction.