Criminal Law, Procedure and Evidence
This domain tests your grasp of the legal building blocks of a prosecution: the offence, the power used, the custody process and the evidence that proves the case. Irish criminal law comes from statute, common law and the Constitution, and procedure is governed heavily by the Criminal Law Act 1997, the Criminal Justice Act 1984 and the Treatment of Persons in Custody Regulations.
Core rules
- Arrest without warrant under section 4 of the Criminal Law Act 1997 requires reasonable suspicion of an arrestable offence; arrest is not a general power to investigate.
- Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 permits initial detention of up to six hours, extendable on senior authorisation up to 24 hours.
- Custody records, access to a solicitor, medical attention and notification of a third party are essential safeguards.
- Evidence must be relevant, admissible and proved properly. Confessions must be voluntary; continuity of exhibits must be demonstrated; unconstitutionally obtained evidence may be excluded.
Worked example
A member arrests a suspect for theft and finds a stolen phone in his jacket. The member should caution him, record the arrest and seizure in the notebook, preserve the phone as an exhibit, note who had custody and when, and avoid unnecessary handling. The prosecution later depends on proving that the phone is the same item and that it was lawfully seized. A gap in continuity gives the defence an obvious point.
Traps
Do not treat arrest as authority to detain indefinitely. Do not rely on a confession without checking voluntariness and access to a solicitor. Do not leave exhibit continuity to memory. Do not confuse a charge with a summons or assume the DPP's direction is a formality.