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Overruling the protectionist exclusionary rule: DPP v JC

Daly, Yvonne Marie (2015) Overruling the protectionist exclusionary rule: DPP v JC. The International Journal of Evidence & Proof, 19 (4). pp. 270-280. ISSN 1365-7127

Abstract
In April 2015 the Irish Supreme Court held, in DPP v JC [2015] IESC 31, that the rather strict exclusionary rule relating to unconstitutionally obtained evidence which had operated in that jurisdiction for the past twenty-five years should no longer be applied. A majority of the Court held that the seminal case in which the rule was set out (People (DPP) v Kenny [1990] 2 IR 110) was erroneously decided and, accordingly, overruled that precedent and reformulated the relevant rule. While the previous rule had operated on a rationale of protectionism, the newly-stated rule is based on principles of deterrence such that evidence will not be excluded where the relevant breach of constitutional rights is inadvertent. This is a major change of approach for the Irish criminal justice system and this case note explores the background to the change, the judgments of the Supreme Court, and the potential impact of what Hardiman J (dissenting) referred to as this “revolution in principle” ([2015] IESC 31 per Hardiman J. at [134]).
Metadata
Item Type:Article (Published)
Refereed:Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords:Law of Evidence; Criminal Law; Exclusionary Rule
Subjects:Social Sciences > Law
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Science > School of Law and Government
Publisher:Sage Publications Ltd
Official URL:http://epj.sagepub.com/content/19/4/270.abstract
Copyright Information:This is the accepted pre-publication version of this paper. The final, definitive version of this paper has been published in the International Journal of Evidence and Proof, 19(4), October 2015 by SAGE Publications Ltd, All rights reserved. © Yvonne Marie Daly
Use License:This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. View License
ID Code:20947
Deposited On:09 Dec 2015 15:05 by Yvonne Daly . Last Modified 19 Jul 2018 15:07
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