Knife attacker has sentencing delayed over ‘access to solicitor’ ruling

A knife attacker has had his sentencing for attempted murder stalled in what is believed to be the first criminal case affected by this week’s Supreme Court ruling on access to solicitors for suspects in custody.

Tadhg Costello, 18, of Richmond Hill, Monks- town, Co Dublin, was due to be sentenced yesterday after he pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of another teenager whom he admitted stabbing six times in 2012.

But the hearing was adjourned for two weeks after his barrister told the trial judge at the Central Criminal Court that he needed time to consider issues that might arise from the Supreme Court ruling.

The Supreme Courtissued a judgement on Thursday stating that suspects who request to see a solicitor may not be questioned until they have seen the solicitor, and any information received from them in the absence of a solicitor cannot be used in a subsequent prosecution.

Potentially hundreds of ongoing criminal investigations, pending trials and convictions under appeal could be affected by the ruling, which has been welcomed by civil liberties campaigners seeking greater protection for people in garda custody.

But one former senior garda said he foresaw difficulties for gardaí attempting to get information about serious crimes and urged exceptions to the new ruling be included.

Retired assistant commissioner Martin Donnellan said in practice it often happened that interrogation was postponed until a requested solicitor arrived but he added that this was not always practical.

He cited the example of a suspect he recalled who requested a solicitor who was four hours away: “You can’t wait half the day for a solicitor to arrive.

“If there’s going to be any wait of longer than an hour, I would suggest that then the clock should stop in the station, otherwise it’s time wasted out of the period he can be interviewed.”

An alternative suggestion was to require the suspect to nominate another solicitor who could attend promptly, he said.

He also said he would be concerned if suspects could not be asked basic questions about obvious evidence, for example where a search was carried out of a suspect’s home and a possible murder weapon discovered.

“Are they seriously saying that you can’t ask the suspect to account for the knife or the gun while they are there in the house? I would say that that type of questioning should be allowed because it’s impractical not to allow it.”

The Supreme Court ruling did not go so far as to say a requested solicitor must be present throughout questioning but it is thought that issue will come up for ruling.

The Department of Justice, DPP and Garda Commissioner are all examining the judgment and the implications it has for the way gardaí carry out interrogations.