The Supreme Court dismissed as moot an appeal by the Governor of Cloverhill Prison against a High Court order releasing Eamonn Dunne on a new charge of conspiracy to commit theft.
In a judgment delivered on 21 May 2009, Denham J. said Dunne was no longer in custody on foot of that charge and that the charge was inoperative. There was no live issue between the parties for the Court to decide, she said.
The appeal concerned Dunne’s re-arrest after the High Court ordered his release on 11 January 2008. He was brought before the District Court the next day and remanded in custody until 17 January. On 15 January, the High Court, following an inquiry under Article 40.4.2° of the Constitution, ordered his release on the new charge. The Governor appealed that order.
The judgment recounted a separate, earlier detention issue involving the original charge. Dunne had been charged on 2 November 2007 with conspiracy to commit theft. On 3 January 2008, the District Court remanded him in custody for two weeks after the prosecution sought more time to serve the Book of Evidence. The High Court ordered his release on 11 January and later gave reasons relating to the statutory extension of time for service of that evidence.
In a separate appeal, the Supreme Court allowed the Governor’s challenge to that earlier release decision on 18 February 2009, finding no case had been made that Dunne’s detention was unlawful. By then, Dunne had been sent forward for trial on indictment on the original charge and was on bail pending trial. The State told the Court in the present appeal that it was not seeking his remand in custody.
The Court did not decide the merits of the new charge or the High Court’s reasoning on the re-arrest. Denham J. concluded that the issue was not justiciable and that judicial resources should not be spent on an academic analysis. The appeal was dismissed on mootness grounds.