The State must pay the costs of Dermot Laide’s re-trial on a charge of the manslaughter of student Brian Murphy outside Anabel’s nightclub in Dublin in August 2000, the Court of Criminal Appeal decided today.
The three-judge court also said the State should pay the costs of Laide’s appeal in the CCA which resulted last February in the quashing of his manslaughter conviction with a direction for a re-trial on that charge.
The CCA upheld Laide’s conviction for violent disorder for which he is serving a two-year sentence. Giving the CCA’s judgment on costs issues yesterday, Mr Justice Brian McCracken — sitting with Mr Justice Roderick Murphy and Mr Justice Michael Peart — said the court recognised the complexities of the case and in particular of the appeal.
Notwithstanding that Laide had qualified for legal aid but did not at the time of the appeal hold a certificate to that effect and nothwithstanding that his conviction on the violent disorder charge was upheld, the CCA, in its discretionn felt that justice required that the costs of the appeal and of the re-trial should be paid in whole by the State, the judge said.
Mr Justice McCracken said section 4 of the Criminal Procedure Act provided that where a person was ordered to be retried for an offence to which a legal aid certificate did not apply, the CCA may order that the costs of the appeal and new trial, in whole or in part, be paid by the State, unless the court was of opinion that the necessity for the appeal and new trial had been contributed to by the defence.
The CCA was satisfied in the present case that the necessity for the appeal and new trial had not been contributed to by the defence.
On June 29th last, the CCA rejected moves to prevent Laide’s re-trial on the manslaughter charge and also turned down an application by his lawyers that if he failed to stop the re-trial, he should be allowed bring a point of law of exceptional public importance to the Supreme Court.