Sean Flanagan appeal dismissed over murder conviction

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

Sean Flanagan’s appeal against his murder conviction was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on 14 June 2016. He had been convicted at the Central Criminal Court of one count of murder and received the mandatory life sentence on 3 December 2013.

Flanagan was arraigned on 4 November 2013 and pleaded not guilty. His trial began on 5 November 2013 and ended on 3 December 2013, when the jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict in relation to the murder charge.

The appeal challenged the admission of evidence obtained after Gardaí entered 105 Lenihan Avenue, including clothing taken for forensic examination. The grounds included alleged unlawful entry, Paul Colbert’s alleged intoxication, the absence of a search warrant and the failure to give a verbal caution.

The Court of Appeal, in a judgment delivered by Mr Justice Mahon, rejected those arguments. It found that Gardaí had been invited into the house and bedrooms, and that Flanagan freely provided the clothing; it held that his constitutional rights had not been breached.