Court ruling goes to the heart of policing and the rule of law

The Supreme Court this week made a ruling that impacts hugely on evidence gathering by gardaí. Cormac O’Keeffe reports on a landmark decision 

AMID the heat generated by a landmark Supreme Court ruling relaxing the exclusion of evidence obtained illegally, it is worth detailing the case upon which the judgment was made. Mr Justice Donal O’Donnell said the facts of the original case were “quite simple”. And they are.

Gardaí in Waterford were investigating three robberies which took place at a bookmaker in the city between April and May 2011.