A judge has said it is "extremely unfortunate" that the sentencing of a fraudster who pretended his family had died in the Grenfell Tower fire to obtain relief funds has been delayed until the new year.

A rapist, who successfully challenged the constitutionality of a law stopping the payment of his State contributory old-age pension, has lost an appeal against the severity of his 12-year jail term.

The public does not trust judges and the recent lenient sentencing of a sex offender has brought the judiciary into “disrepute”, it has been claimed.

Disturbing evidence was given in court of thick blood being smeared onto a garda’s face as a man was jailed for 11 months.

Latest: The Central Criminal Court has heard a 66-year-old man who was found guilty of repeatedly raping his son in Waterford is planning to appeal.

A South African judge has dismissed an appeal by prosecutors for a harsher sentence against Oscar Pistorius, who was found guilty of murder for killing his girlfriend in 2013.

An ex-Fianna Fail politician and Minster of State who admitted fraudulently claiming €4,207.45 in expenses from the Oireachtas on forged mobile phone invoices, has withdrawn his appeal against sentence.

Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev apologised for the deadly attack for the first time today, just before a judge formally sentenced him to death.

A man has been sentenced to 90 years in prison for attacking an Irish student and her friend with a baseball bat in Chicago.

The sentence hearing of the two former Anglo Irish Bank directors convicted of providing illegal loans to 10 individuals is due to open at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court today before Judge Martin Nolan.