269 / 274
fishing or an attempt to fish - (1976 No. 220
SS - Finlay P. - 27/7/76).
The State (Neculai) v. McCourt.
Imprisonment
Transfer to mental hospital — Whether
original offence excused by state of mind —
(59/1976 - Supreme Court - 14/10/76).
The State (Heany)
v.
Central Mental
Hospital.
Infant
Enquiry as to age — Child or young person
charged with offence — Procedure governed
by age of accused — Statute giving
jurisdiction to court even if it was mislead by
answer given to enquiry — Statute not
applicable where answer to enquiry not given
on oath — Section 123 of Children's Act,
1908 - (1976 No. 133 SS - Finlay P. -
30/7/76).
The State (Kenny) v. Ó hUadhaigh.
Infant
Sentence — Child or young person —
Imprisonment prohibited unless court certifies
that accused of unruly or depraved character
so as not to be suitable for detention in place
provided by Children's Act, 1908 —Charge
and conviction for assault — Evidence
adduced in support of charge not sufficient or
appropriate to ground certificate — Enquiry
required into general character of accused
before certificate can be given — (1976 No.
207 SS - Hamilton J. - 29/7/76).
The State (Holland)
v.
Kennedy.
Jury
Selection of panel — Conviction after trial
before judge and jury — Leave to appeal
refused —Habeas corpus proceedings raising
issue of validity of conviction on ground that
provisions of Juries Act, 1927, declared
unconstitutional by Supreme Court in other
proceedings during trial of accused —
Members of jury all qualified and no
objection by applicant at trial to method of
selecting jury panel —Conviction valid and
habeas corpus refused - (1976 No. 197 SS -
High Court - 12/7/76).
The People (Byrne) v. Governor of Mountjoy
Prison.
Legal Advice
Detainee — Suspect being questioned in police
station — Right to legal advice —
Procurement of such advice — (1976 No. 439
SS - Finlay P. 14/12/76).
The State (Harrington) v. Commissioner of
Garda Siochdna.
Legal Aid
Failure — Accused granted certificate for free
legal aid — Conviction after trial at which
accused not represented — Conviction set
aside — Duty of court to inform accused of
his right to apply for legal aid — (141, 143,
144/75 - Supreme Court - 22/7/76).
The State (Foran A Healy)
v.
O'Reilly.
Legal Aid
Police — Interrogation of suspect — Police not
obliged to obtain legal assistance for suspect
in absence of request - (5-8/1976 - C.C.A.
- 16/11/76).
The People (D.P.P.) v. Madden & Ors.
Murder
Capital murder — Joint trial of husband and
wife — Armed robbery —Accused escaping
after robbery — Accused chased by
4
policeman in civilian clothes — Policeman
shot dead by female accused — Ample
evidence that deceased was acting in the
course of duty suspecting the commission of a
felony —Ample evidence of common design
to resist arrest by force of arms — No rule of
law prohibiting trial of other offences at trial
for murder — No mistrial on ground that
member of Special Criminal Court had
adjudicated at trial of accused for criminal
offence on previous occasion — Wife's
defence that she acted under coercion of
husband not applicable to charge of murder —
Not necessary for accused to be in court
when sentence pronounced as proceedings
relayed to accused — Accused failing to avail
of chance to address court on sentence —
Capital murder not a new offence but a
statutory retention of an old offence and its
punishment — Leave to appeal to Supreme
Court on point of law - (1976 Nos. 20 & 21
- Court of Criminal Appeal - 29/7/76).
The People (D.P.P.) v. Murray.
Murder
Capital murder —Whether a new offence —
Mens rea — Whether prosecution must prove
that accused knew that deceased was a
policeman acting in the course of his duty —
Criminal Justice Act, 1964, s.l - (137-
8/1976 - Supreme Court - 9/12/76).
The People (DJ*J*.)
v.
Murray.
Offence
Planning permission — Change of user -
Permission granted for use as "fried fish and
chip shop" — Condition imposed that user
should not occur between
11 p.m.
and 8 a.m. — Permission not required for use
as chip shop —Prosecution for alleged user
outside authorised hours in contravention of
permission — Evidence that witnesses bought
"fish and chips" - No evidence that fish was
fried fish - Case stated by District Justice -
Held that no satisfactory evidence that shop
used as fried fish shop — However, imposition
of condition in regard to hours of use as chip
shop was a valid imposition or condition in
granting permission for use as fried fish
shop notwithstanding permission for use as
chip shop not required - Further, the
ordinary meaning of "chip" was "a fried slice
of potato" and so there had been evidence to
support a conviction in regard to user as chip
shop - (1976 No. 36 SS - Finlay P. -
1/6/76).
Corporation of Dublin v. Raso.
Offence
Proof — Control of foot and mouth disease —
Failure to comply with Prohibition Notice
served on defendant by veterinary inspector
- Notice prohibiting defendant from entering
upon specified lands - Notice authorised if
inspector "has reason to believe" that the
movement of any person may be attended
with risk of spread of disease — Conviction in
District Court without evidence of inspector
- Appeal to Circuit Court - Case stated —
Necessary for prosecution to prove that
inspector had reason to believe and believed
the relevant matters - Appeal Court still
having discretion to admit missing evidence
being a procedural matter - Foot and Mouth
Disease Order, 1956, Article 19 - (113/
1974 - Supreme Court - 5/4/76).
The Attorney General (Corbett) v. Hatford.
Police
Interrogation - Suspect required to give full
account of his movements - Whether any
power to require repetition of full account
given - Offences Against the State Act,
1939, s. 52 - (5-8/1976 - C.C.A. -
16/11/76).
The People (D.P.P.) v. Madden A Ors.
Procedure
District Court - Plea of guilty - Indictable
offence — Court empowered to send accused
forward for sentence to the court to which
accused, if he had pleaded not guilty, could
lawfully "have been sent forward for trial" -
Certificate of Attorney General issued under
s. 46(1) of Act of 1939 - Accused sent
forward properly for sentence under Act of
1967 to Special Criminal Court - Habeas
corpus - Offences against the State Act,
1939, s. 13 (2) (b) - (1976 No. 26 SS -
Butler J. 16/2/76).
The People (A.G.) v. Littlejohn.
Procedure
District Court - Plea of guilty - Indictable
offence — Court empowered to send accused
forward for sentence to the court to which
accused, if he had pleaded not guilty, could
lawfully "have been sent forward for trial" —
Certificate of Attorney General issued under
s. 46 (1) of Act of 1939 - Certificate valid -
Accused sent forward properly for sentence
under Act of 1967 to Special Criminal Court
— Habeas corpus — Offences against the
State Act, 1939, s. 46 (1) - Criminal
Procedure Act, 1967, s. 13 (2) (b) - (19/74
& 25/76 - Supreme Court - 18/3/76).
The State (Littlejohn)
v. Governor of
Mountjoy Prison.
Prosecution
Authority to initiate — Summary charges
brought by police in the name of The People
and at the suit of the Director of Public
Prosecutions — No authority to prosecute
given by D.P.P. - District Justice having no
power to determine charges — (1976 No. 58
SS - McMahon J. - 10/12/76).
The People (D.P.P.) v. Roddy.
Road Traffic
Alcohol test - Blood sample - Statutory
procedure mandatory - Certificate of result
of test not stating that certain requirements
satisfied — Onus on prosecution to prove
aliunde omitted matters — Failure of proof —
Adjournment refused — Complaint dismissed
— Decision upheld - (103/75 - Supreme
Court - 29/7/76).
Verdon
v.
Dowries.
Road Traffic
Caution — Failure to provide blood specimen
— Statutory defence if defendant shows that
he has not been cautioned in the prescribed
manner of "the possible effects of his refusal
or failure" — Defendant cautioned in
accordance with regulations — Caution
informing defendant that he would be liable to
be prosecuted for an offence under s. 30 of
Act of 1968 - Defendant prosecuted and
convicted under that section - Caution failing
to inform defendant that on conviction he
would be disqualified from holding driving
licence for minimum period of one year —
"Possible effects" not equivalent of "possible
consequences" — Conviction valid —
Attorney General
v.
Jordan
107 I.L.T.R. 112
overruled - Case stated - (33/1976 -
Supreme Court 8/4/76).
Grogan v. Byrne.
Road Traffic
Insurance — Complaint that defendant was