Michael O'Shea wins conviction appeal; later extract records retrial intention
This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.
Michael O'Shea won his appeal against a careless-driving conviction at the Court of Appeal on 15 December 2015. Mr. Justice Mahon delivered the judgment.
A majority jury at Naas Circuit Criminal Court had convicted him on 12 November 2014 of one count of careless driving contrary to section 52 of the Road Traffic Act 1961.
On 18 December 2014, he was fined €5,000, with one year to pay and three months in default of payment, and disqualified from driving for four years. He was also directed to resit a driver competency test when the disqualification expired.
The collision occurred at Graiguesallagh, County Kildare, on 9 January 2013. His car struck a JCB at roadworks, killing a worker who was controlling traffic and was pinned between the vehicles.
O'Shea maintained that strong sunlight had blinded him and that no warning signs were visible to him. Other witnesses described the sun as low shortly afterwards. The evidence indicated that he was not driving fast, his car was roadworthy and both drivers tested negative for alcohol. He fully co-operated with the garda investigation.
The appeal court held that dangerous or careless driving causing death was not an offence of strict liability. It allowed the first five appeal grounds because the trial judge's contrary direction was erroneous and could have confused the jury.
The DPP argued that those grounds should be excluded because they had not been raised with the trial judge. The court found that excluding them would be fundamentally unjust. It rejected the final ground, concerning the judge's instruction to disregard possible punishment when deciding the verdict.
A Supreme Court case extract dated 15 June 2017 said the DPP no longer sought to uphold the conviction but intended to proceed with a retrial. The successful appeal therefore did not mark the end of the intended prosecution.