The Supreme Court has upheld an order preventing a third trial of Niall Byrne on charges arising from a 2005 tiger kidnapping, after two juries were unable to agree on the charges against him.
In a judgment delivered on 17 February 2015, Mr Justice Hardiman said the proposed third trial would be oppressive and unfair. The court dismissed the Director of Public Prosecutions’ appeal against the High Court order in Niall Byrne’s favour.
The judgment said the first trial ran from April to July 2009 and lasted 65 sitting days. A jury convicted three co-accused but could not agree on the charges against Byrne and another accused. His second trial, in late 2011, lasted 25 sitting days; that jury also failed to reach a verdict on any count against him. The judgment records that the prosecution had served 18 notices of additional evidence across the proceedings.
The Court said there was no change in the evidence proposed for a third trial. It also pointed to the time the case had consumed, the stress on Byrne and his family, and the effect of lengthy proceedings and restrictive bail conditions on his work and family life. The judgment described a general practice against a third trial after two full trials ending in jury disagreement, while making clear there is no automatic rule: each case depends on its circumstances.
The judgment noted that Byrne denied involvement and that the case against him was circumstantial. It said the trial judge had described that case as the weakest before the court, though it had been sufficient to proceed beyond an application for a directed acquittal. The Supreme Court did not determine the criminal charges; it upheld the order barring a further trial.
David Byrne brought a separate appeal after the High Court refused him relief. The Supreme Court dismissed his appeal for the reasons given by the High Court judge. The judgment expressly states that Niall Byrne and David Byrne are unrelated despite sharing a surname. It gives no further detail of the charges or evidence in David Byrne’s separate proceedings.