The Supreme Court has made a landmark ruling relating to the admissibility of evidence obtained from a Donegal suspect before receiving legal advice.
The appeal was brought by Raymond Gormley – with a previous address at Quiet Moment Apartments in Letterkenny – who was convicted of attempted rape in 2007 and has served a six year sentence.
In 2009, he sought leave to appeal his conviction, partly on the basis that evidence was admitted of his interviews in custody in alleged breach of his Constitutional right of access to a lawyer.
The Court of Criminal Appeal was satisfied that gardai had made reasonable attempts to contact Mr. Gormley’s solicitor while he was in custody.
The matter was complicated by the fact he was arrested on a Sunday.
The case was sent for review to the Supreme Court on the basis that it raised legal questions of exceptional public importance.
Today four Supreme Court judges agreed with the decision of their colleague Mr. Justice Frank Clarke – that as a consequence of Raymond Gormley’s clear request for a lawyer, gardai should have postponed questioning him until his solicitor arrived.
The judgment is in line with the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.
Mr. Justice Clarke notes ‘there are further questions which will have to await other cases with different factual scenarios concerning the precise parameters of that right’.