The Court of Criminal Appeal has ordered a retrial for Duane Lindsey after allowing his appeal against convictions for possessing ecstasy and amphetamine for supply. The court found that the trial judge had not properly explained the absence of corroboration of Lindsey’s confession to the jury.
Lindsey was convicted by a 10–2 majority in Waterford Circuit Criminal Court on 30 May 2002 on four counts relating to possession of the two drugs on 27 November 1999. The following day, he received a six-year prison sentence on the two supply counts, backdated to 20 February 2002. The other two counts were taken into consideration.
The appeal court treated Lindsey’s application for leave to appeal as the hearing of the appeal. It allowed the appeal on the corroboration ground and ordered a retrial. It did not decide the other grounds raised.
At trial, the judge told jurors that the case rested entirely on Lindsey’s statement and urged them to take extra care because it was the only evidence on which they could rely to convict. But the appeal court said the judge had not explained what corroboration meant or how its absence might affect the jury’s assessment of the confession. The court held that the statutory requirement to advise the jury to have due regard to the absence of corroboration had not been met.
Lindsey had also challenged the trial judge’s handling of a juror who said he worked in Tramore and had seen Lindsey, though he did not know him. The appeal court found no error in the decision not to make further inquiries or discharge the jury. It said the trial judge had discretion on the issue and that there was no suggestion of jury intimidation or interference.
The remaining grounds included challenges to Lindsey’s detention, the admission of his statement and interview memorandum, the conduct of Garda interviews, and the verdict. The appeal court said it was unnecessary to consider them after deciding the corroboration ground. It also did not determine the application to appeal the severity of the sentence.