Patrick Scanlon’s cannabis conviction appeal dismissed

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Patrick Scanlon’s appeal against his convictions for possessing cannabis for sale or supply and importing cannabis was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on 29 October 2015. The panel comprised Sheehan J., Mahon J. and Edwards J.

Scanlon was convicted on 21 May 2014 following an eight-day trial at Limerick Circuit Court. The offences, committed in August 2013, involved just under 4kg of cannabis valued at €79,000. He was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment for each offence.

He argued that unlawful detention immediately before his arrest had tainted his subsequent detention, making incriminating statements inadmissible. He also challenged the adequacy of the trial judge’s directions on circumstantial evidence. The court found the search and detention lawful and held that the complaint about the jury directions had no merit.

Although Scanlon had appealed against both conviction and sentence, the judgment dealt solely with the conviction appeal. It did not determine his appeal against sentence.