Case may go before Supreme Court

Lawyers for Dermot Laide, whose conviction for the manslaughter of Brian Murphy outside Club Anabel five years ago was overturned…

Lawyers for Dermot Laide, whose conviction for the manslaughter of Brian Murphy outside Club Anabel five years ago was overturned in February, are to make further submissions to the Court of Criminal Appeal. The nature of the submissions was not specified.

The appeal court overturned Laide's manslaughter conviction on February 24th and directed a retrial on that charge.

At the same time the appeal court upheld the conviction of Laide (23), of Rossvale, Castleblayney, on another charge - that of violent disorder - for which he was given a two-year sentence.

When the case was mentioned in the Court of Criminal Appeal yesterday, counsel for Laide said they wished to raise two issues, one of which would take about 10 minutes, while the other, on a matter of law, would take about 45 minutes.

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The nature of the issues was not stated, but there was speculation that an attempt might be made to bring the case to the Supreme Court.

If the matter went to the Supreme Court, it could mean a deferment of the retrial, which the Director of Public Prosecutions wants to proceed with.

In court yesterday Mr Justice Brian McCracken adjourned the case to a date when the three judges who dealt with it would be free. He said it would be helpful if counsel could make written submissions on the case.

The appeal court yesterday also adjourned an application for costs on behalf of Desmond Ryan (24), Cunningham Road, Dalkey, Dublin, who had his conviction for violent disorder quashed in February. He had been sentenced to nine months but, in quashing his conviction, the appeal court said it would not order a retrial in his case.

Mr Murphy died after a fracas outside the nightclub, attached to the Burlington Hotel, at Sussex Road, Dublin, in the early hours of August 31st, 2000.