Illegally Obtained Evidence

ViP3r

Hey guys,

Doing an evidence question here, wrote my answer, looking for opinions.

Its a similar scenario to the Freeman 1996 case.

Long story short.

Garda Surveillance team surveilling indv suspected of Drug Dealing ( S15 Misuse Of Drugs Act 1977), bloke spots em n runs inside house. Team spots him pouring what looks like petrol on large quantities of cannabis. They break the door down ( Not clear whether they knocked ;D) and discover the cannabis and €300,000 worth of heroine under the sofa. They pursue him onto the Stret and arrest the individual and an accomplice.

Main issue I'm uncertain of, in relation to the admissibility of the evidence, is whether the whole incident is covered under S6 of the Crimnal Law Act 1997, entry without a warrant to effect an arrest. Or whether the Kenny exclusionary rule comes into play in relation to the protection of his dwelling under Article 40.5 and extraordinary excusing circumstances apply.

Or if indeed the Team has power under The Surveillance Act 2009 to act to prevent the destruction of evidence? As far as I know photographic evidence is inadmissible?

Any feedback is appreciated,

Cheers guys

Tom Young

Feedback: Do your own homework.

ViP3r

Tom Young wrote: »

Feedback: Do your own homework.

Hi Tom, thanks for the concern about my education. Like I indicated above, my 5 odd pages of essay are finished as of this afternoon. I'm only looking to get the opinions of those on the discussion board who may be involved in this line of work.

That said, I may have over estimated the complexity of this snippet of the question. But having turned my textbook inside out and writting the essay, I thought I might seek some 'helpful' feedback. Not that your witty post isnt amusing, it's just little harsh.

Tom Young

Yes, fair enough. I apologise (not too much though).

See Section 12 of the 2006 Criminal Justice Act in re. Photographic Evidence on arrest (not sure if relevant to your case).

The MD Acts as far as I know allow for entry without a warrant. Consider O'Brien and State (Walsh) v Cash ... though not much in that by the way of new law.


Admissibility of evidence under the Surveillance Act:

Section 14 provides for the admissibility of evidence obtained by surveillance under this Act, including a saver permitting admissibility where there is a technical error on the face of the authorisation or approval.

Tom Young

Section 2, Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996

Victor

You need to argue from both points of view, not just one.

Criminal Damage Act, 1991