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High Court dismisses application for order restraining prosecution on the grounds of delay where applicant was no longer able to avail of statutory protections for children by the time of his trial, holding that: (a) the delay of more than two years between the date of the alleged offence and the charging of the applicant was inordinate and amounted to culpable or blameworthy delay; (b) the principal prejudice suffered by the applicant was that he had lost the benefit of the reporting restrictions provided for in the legislation, but the other complaints did not represent real prejudice in the circumstances of the case; (c) the balance of justice lay in favour of allowing the prosecution to proceed; and (d) it would undermine the rule of law if the DPP were to be restrained from pursuing prosecutions for offences such as those alleged in the present case, which concerned the maintenance of discipline and order at courthouses.
Application for order restraining further prosecution on the basis of prosecutorial delay - offences alleged to have been committed when applicant was 16 years old and a 'child' as defined by the Children Act 2001 - 'child' defined as person under the age of 18 - status of 'child' affords certain statutory entitlements, including anonymity, different sentencing principles, and mandatory probation report - relevant time for age of accused to be taken into account is time of trial - applicant charged with offences arising out of an incident said to have occurred at Cloverhill courthouse after applicant was refused bail - alleged by prosecution that applicant tried to escape custody, assaulted three members of An Garda Síochána and damaged a door - applicant not charged with the offences until two years after the date of the alleged incident - almost a full two years passed after the date of the alleged incident before applicant turned 18 - whether if the Garda investigation been conducted expeditiously the applicant would have been entitled to have the charges against him determined in accordance with the 2001 Act - whether there had been culpable or blameworthy delay - whether, if so, the trial ought to be restrained.
Note: This is intended to be a fair and accurate report of a decision made public by a court of law. Any errors should be notified to the editor and will be dealt with accordingly.
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