Garda Raid

nails1

If garda have a warrant to raid a house for drugs and raid wrong house but still find a small amount drugs in the process can they be sued?

antodeco

nails1 wrote: »

If garda have a warrant to raid a house for drugs and raid wrong house but still find a small amount drugs in the process can they be sued?

The Gardai typically dont sue people. They're more into the oul arresting.

jimgoose

Yes, you can sue the Gardaí involved personally, even if they had their caps on at the time. In furtherance, if the drugs are of poor quality you can file a complaint directly with the DPP.

nails1

antodeco wrote: »

The Gardai typically dont sue people. They're more into the oul arresting.

I meant sue the Garda. I read this article online and it got me wondering

https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/woman-awarded-50000-as-gardai-raid-house-by-mistake-26873170.html

Odhinn

nails1 wrote: »

If garda have a warrant to raid a house for drugs and raid wrong house but still find a small amount drugs in the process can they be sued?

No, as far as I know.




You might be a bit more specific about what constitutes a "small amount".

Odhinn

nails1 wrote: »

I meant sue the Garda. I read this article online and it got me wondering

https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/woman-awarded-50000-as-gardai-raid-house-by-mistake-26873170.html

Evidently I'm wrong on that then so. The drugs are a complicating factor though.

Boom_Bap

What address is on the warrant?

Yurt2

jimgoose wrote: »

Yes, you can sue the Gardaí involved personally, even if they had their caps on at the time. In furtherance, if the drugs are of poor quality you can file a complaint directly with the DPP.

Only if you took a sh*te in the Garda's hat and the commissioner didn't turn his seal of office while on his oath that morning.

Impressed that After Hours has so many experts on the finer legal details of drug busts...

Muppet Man

Not unrelated, I do remember a case where the gardai raided a house but the warrant (I believe) had expired. AFAIR the chap got off as the judge agreed due process was not followed during the arrest. I suppose it can happen easily.

Badly Drunk Boy

Boom_Bap wrote: »

What address is on the warrant?

In his judgment, Mr Justice Ryan said gardai were searching for somebody they had good reason to apprehend and that they had to act fast in case their quarry escaped. In this case, the gardai realised relatively quickly that they had made a mistake.

He noted there were two unfinished housing estates very close together and no name at the entrance of either estate.

They should have used the Eircode. :pac:

MrFresh

I think there's been a relatively recent decision that allows evidence gathered unconstitutionally in cases of honest mistake.

ohnonotgmail

Muppet Man wrote: »

Not unrelated, I do remember a case where the gardai raided a house but the warrant (I believe) had expired. AFAIR the chap got off as the judge agreed due process was not followed during the arrest. I suppose it can happen easily.

That was Judge Brian Curtin. He was acquitted on child pornography charges because of it.

seamus

What exactly would you sue the Gardai for?

You can only sue where losses have been incurred. So if the raid caused damage to your house and emotional distress, then maybe. But as a matter of process, Garda activities are generally excluded from such actions, provided they were lawful. If they raid a house that wasn't on the warrant, then you might have a case. If your house is on the warrant, but it was misidentified further up the chain, then it's tough ****.

In terms of what they find, if your house is not on the warrant, then the Gardai can't do you for possession, but they can confiscate and destroy the drugs. If your house is on the warrant, then they are entitled to use the drugs as evidence against you. Even if you weren't the actual target of the raid.

FishOnABike

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

That was Judge Brian Curtin. He was acquitted on child pornography charges because of it.

If I remember it hinged in the time the warrant was signed and whether a day was a 24 hour period from when the warrant was signed or from midnight to midnight starting either the day the warrant was signed or the next day.

Conveniently the judge in question was on holidays at the time and the gardaí waited until his return to politely knock on his door with the warrant. It wouldn't do to have used a locksmith or 'enforcer' instead of waiting a few days.

MrFresh

FishOnABike wrote: »

If I remember it hinged in the time the warrant was signed and whether a day was a 24 hour period from when the warrant was signed or from midnight to midnight starting either the day the warrant was signed or the next day.

Conveniently the judge in question was on holidays at the time and the gardaí waited until his return to politely knock on his door with the warrant. It wouldn't do to have used a locksmith or 'enforcer' instead of waiting a few days.

not if the material was on a device he had with him.

ohnonotgmail

MrFresh wrote: »

not if the material was on a device he had with him.

the material was on his home PC.

kneemos

seamus wrote: »

What exactly would you sue the Gardai for?

You can only sue where losses have been incurred. So if the raid caused damage to your house and emotional distress, then maybe. But as a matter of process, Garda activities are generally excluded from such actions, provided they were lawful. If they raid a house that wasn't on the warrant, then you might have a case. If your house is on the warrant, but it was misidentified further up the chain, then it's tough ****.

In terms of what they find, if your house is not on the warrant, then the Gardai can't do you for possession, but they can confiscate and destroy the drugs. If your house is on the warrant, then they are entitled to use the drugs as evidence against you. Even if you weren't the actual target of the raid.

There was a case a while back where a shared house was raided and they searched everybody's room rather than the room of the suspect.

Would have thought shared areas were fair game,but individual rooms were private property?

MrFresh

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

the material was on his home PC.

In this particular case it was.

SEPT 23 1989

so the lightweight can't finish his drugs in one sitting?

seamus

kneemos wrote: »

There was a case a while back where a shared house was raided and they searched everybody's room rather than the room of the suspect.

Would have thought shared areas were fair game,but individual rooms were private property?

Nope. Not unless the individual rooms form legally separate properties with their own addresses.

The warrant is issued for the search of a property (or properties), so this includes all spaces within that property.

Businesses sometimes hit this problem too when they're subletting from some dodgy characters and suddenly the Gardai are in seizing your computers and your files.

seamus

FishOnABike wrote: »

Conveniently the judge in question was on holidays at the time and the gardaí waited until his return to politely knock on his door with the warrant. It wouldn't do to have used a locksmith or 'enforcer' instead of waiting a few days.

None of that was unintentional. They tried to throw the plods under the bus for incompetence, because that was better than the truth.

FishOnABike

seamus wrote: »

None of that was unintentional. They tried to throw the plods under the bus for incompetence, because that was better than the truth.

Yes, a most unfortunate series of coincidences wouldn't you say?

That, and the judges early retirement (with pension) on health grounds before he could be brought before a dáil enquiry. Most unfortunate.