Court awards €500k costs to murder accused

IN a highly unusual decision, a man accused of murder has been awarded costs of €500,000 by the Supreme Court to pay for an unsuccessful legal bid to halt his trial.

The Supreme Court decision is a departure from the normal rule that costs go to the winning party.

The court made the award to Dubliner Brian Rattigan against the Director of Public Prosecutions because of the prosecution’s delay and “lurid” pre-trial publicity.