Criminal Procedure
Criminal Procedure
This section tests the King's Inns candidate on the Irish criminal process from first Garda contact to final appeal. The exam focuses on statutory powers, timelines, court hierarchy, the book of evidence, bail and the accused’s constitutional rights.
Core rules and concepts
- Summary versus indictable: summary offences are tried in the District Court by a judge sitting alone, with limited sentencing powers; indictable offences go forward for trial on indictment, usually in the Circuit Court, or in the Central Criminal Court for murder, treason and rape.
- Arrest: s.4 Criminal Law Act 1997 permits arrest without warrant for an arrestable offence (one punishable by five years or more) on reasonable grounds; the Garda must tell the suspect the grounds and caution them.
- Detention: s.4 Criminal Justice Act 1984 allows initial detention of six hours, extendable by a superintendent to 12 hours and by a chief superintendent to 24 hours. s.30 Offences Against the State Act 1939 permits up to 72 hours for scheduled offences, which may be tried in the three-judge Special Criminal Court.
- Bail: the Bail Act 1997 preserves the presumption of bail, but the court may refuse for serious offences or where necessary to prevent interference with witnesses; conditions and independent sureties are common, with appeal to the High Court.
- Book of evidence: under the Criminal Procedure Act 1967, the prosecution serves a book of evidence within the statutory period and the accused is returned for trial; it contains witness statements and exhibits and replaced preliminary examination.
- Trial and appeal: arraignment, plea, jury of twelve, verdict, sentence; appeal lies to the Court of Appeal. Adverse inferences from silence may arise under the Criminal Justice Acts 1984 and 2007.
Worked example
Gardaí arrest A at 09:00 under s.4 for burglary. The six-hour period ends at 15:00. A superintendent extends detention to 21:00; a chief superintendent extends it to 09:00 the next day. A is charged at 23:00. The detention is lawful because each extension was authorised within time. If the superintendent had purported to extend at 15:30, detention after 15:00 would be unlawful, and A’s statement may be excluded at trial as unconstitutionally obtained.
Traps
- Confusing s.4 and s.30 detention clocks.
- Forgetting that the book of evidence procedure replaced preliminary examination.
- Applying for bail in the wrong court or ignoring appeal to the High Court.
- Assuming a jury must be unanimous in every case.
- Missing appeal timelines or forgetting the Special Criminal Court’s non-jury status.