Curtin search warrant 'had not expired'
As at present advised, there is an abundance of common law precedent, which has been settled, consistently followed and applied for almost two centuries, supporting the not unreasonable proposition that in calculating the period of time within which some act must be done from a specified date, the day of that date is not to be included (Lester v Garland {1808} 15. Ves., 248 and other subsequent decisions).
Section 7 of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998 provides for the issue of a search warrant to enter premises within seven days from the date of the warrant.
"'Date' does not mean the hour or the minute, but the day ... and in law there is no fraction of a day." (Pugh v Duke of Leeds (1771) 2. Cowp. 714-720.)
Accordingly, it appears that any interpretation which would not exclude the day of the date of the issue of the search warrant (or any fraction thereof) is contrary to the expressed intention of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998.
In the premises, the search warrant was in time. It had not expired and, accordingly, the entry was lawful.
Peter Conolly,
Greystones,
Co Wicklow.
