Cases dropped over court’s suspended sentences ruling

Cases against two convicted criminals, who re-offended while under suspended sentences, have been dropped as a result of Tuesday’s High Court ruling.

In that ruling, Mr Justice Michael Moriarty declared that parts of Section 99 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 were unconstitutional. This section allowed the court to activate suspended portions of sentences if a person re-offended.

A number of cases appear before judges every day on the State’s application to have previously suspended sentences activated.