THE Court of Criminal Appeal is to decide whether Mr Vincent Connell is entitled to apply for a certificate that there was a miscarriage of justice in his case.
Two years ago the same court quashed the former disc jockey's 1991 conviction by the Central Criminal Court for the murder of Ms Patricia Furlong (21) of Mulvey Park, Dundrum, Dublin, in July, 1982.
Mr Connell (46) of Neagh Road, Terenure, Dublin, appeared again before the Central Criminal Court last year.
He admitted four charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm on four former girlfriends between 1978 and 1989. He walked free after a 12 year sentence was suspended.
Mr Justice Budd, who sentenced Mr Connell, said he had a capacity to cause fear in other persons, particularly in women with whom he was friendly.
The judge said Mr Connell must be given credit for the time he had served in custody. In that regard he was suspending sentence on condition that Mr Connell enter into a bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for 12 years, and keep away from his four victims and their families.
Mr Connell's counsel at last year's Central Criminal Court hearing said his client had apologised to all of his victims. The incident had happened when Mr Connell was in his 20s and there was drink involved.
Mr Connell was anxious to leave the jurisdiction and this would assuage the victims' fears.
Yesterday, in the Court of Criminal Appeal, Mr Rex Mackey SC, for Mr Connell, said his client was applying under the provisions of Section 9 of the Criminal Procedure Act for a certificate that there had been a miscarriage of justice in relation to his conviction for the murder of Ms Furlong Under this section a person can seek compensation from the State.
The presiding judge, Mr Justice O'Flaherty, said the court would hear submissions during the next law term on whether Section 9 of the Act applied to Mr Connell's situation.