Judge refuses to halt trial of man (19) on Luas robbery charge

A High Court judge has ruled there was prosecutorial delay in the case of a 19-year-old man who was a minor aged 16 when he was arrested for a suspected robbery offence but was only charged last year.

However, Mr Justice Garrett Simons ruled the balance of justice required that the prosecution of the man on two charges relating to an alleged robbery on a Luas tram and platform in 2017 should proceed.

The applicant had brought judicial review proceedings aimed at restraining, on grounds of prosecutorial delay, his further prosecution on the charges against him.

He claimed the alleged offences occurred when he was 16 years old. It was argued, had the Garda investigation been conducted expeditiously, he would have been entitled to have the charges determined in accordance with the Children Act 2001.

Mr Justice Simons said the delay of 22 months between the date of the alleged offences in June 2017 and the subsequent charging of the young man last year was inordinate and excessive.

At almost every stage of the process, there was culpable delay on the part of the prosecuting authorities and what should have been a “straightforward” investigation took “far too long”.

The fact the investigation file seems to have gone missing within the Garda for a significant period of time was “especially concerning”, he said. However, he held the balance of justice lay in favour of allowing the prosecution of the alleged offences, which he said were were serious, should proceed. The applicant had been convicted of a number of separate offences and is currently in prison, he noted.