The High Court has directed that Catherine-Anne Lynch’s attempt to challenge an impending District Court assault prosecution be heard on notice to the Director of Public Prosecutions, Garda Commissioner and Attorney General.
Mr Justice Conleth Bradley did not grant or refuse leave for judicial review in his March 19 judgment. Instead, he ordered an inter partes hearing so the State parties could respond to Ms Lynch’s constitutional and statutory arguments before the court decides whether her challenge may proceed.
The case arises from an alleged minor assault at a dwelling in County Dublin on November 27, 2022. Ms Lynch denies that there is a basis for prosecuting her.
A Garda investigation followed. In May 2023 she was told that the DPP had directed a prosecution and that she could be considered for the Adult Caution Scheme. A District Court summons dated November 13, 2023 later accused her of assault contrary to section 2 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997.
Ms Lynch, representing herself, seeks extensive relief. Among other things, she argues that summary prosecutions by the DPP and Gardaí are constitutionally invalid, challenges the Adult Caution Scheme and seeks to have her own prosecution quashed.
The High Court stressed that the threshold for leave to seek judicial review is low but real: a proposed case must have a rational prospect of success. Courts are also generally reluctant to halt criminal trials before the trial court has considered the evidence.
Mr Justice Bradley examined the statutory framework governing prosecutions. He noted that the Prosecution of Offences Act 1974 transferred most prosecutorial functions from the Attorney General to the DPP, while section 8 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005, as amended in 2022, permits Garda members to institute or conduct summary prosecutions in the DPP’s name subject to DPP directions.
The leave application was adjourned to April 1, 2025. KOD Lyons Solicitors, previously named as a respondent, was instead joined as a notice party.