The Court of Appeal has ordered a retrial after allowing Darren Weldon (No. 2)’s conviction appeal, finding that the error identified in one strand of evidence could be rectified or avoided at a new trial.
In an ex tempore judgment delivered on 27 June 2018, the court said the Director of Public Prosecutions sought a retrial in the public interest. It ordered the retrial and admitted Mr Weldon to bail on conditions. The judgment does not state the charge or determine the outcome of any retrial.
For the appellant, Mr Hartnett argued that a retrial would be unfair and oppressive given the delays and time already spent in custody. He said Mr Weldon was initially charged in October 2014, convicted on 15 December 2016, and waited about 14 months for his appeal to be heard, with judgment delivered about five months later. He also said Mr Weldon had spent about 19 months in custody, equivalent to more than half of the net custodial sentence imposed if served in full, and had no previous convictions.
The court acknowledged the delays, describing them as unfortunate, and said they were largely due to a lack of judges. It said trials and appeals were difficult to organise more quickly. It also noted that the appeal succeeded on a specific error relating to a single matter, which could be addressed at retrial. The judgment gives no further detail about the error or the underlying evidence.
Bail conditions included a €100 personal bond without lodgment and an independent surety bond of €1,000, to be frozen in a Permanent TSB account on O’Connell Street, Dublin. Mr Weldon was required to reside at 4 Robert Emmet Close, Dublin 8, observe a midnight-to-7am curfew, report to Kilmainham Garda station daily between 9am and 9pm, and surrender his passport. He was also barred from contacting proposed prosecution witnesses or associating with people charged or connected with the scheduled offence before the Special Criminal Court.
He was required to attend that court on 29 June 2018 at 10.30am and at subsequent adjournments, keep the peace, and provide a mobile number to Detective Sergeant Padraig Boyce within 24 hours of release. The judgment says the surety and address condition was approved by consent by the Court of Appeal on 29 June 2018.