The Supreme Court has made a landmark ruling that a suspect is entitled to legal advice before being questioned by gardai while in custody.
The appeal was brought by Raymond Gormley, a Donegal man with a previous address at Quiet Moment Apartments, Letterkenny who was convicted of attempted rape in 2007 and has served a 6 year sentence.
This is an important ruling on the rights of suspects in garda custody and could open the door to a host of similar cases.
Raymond Gormley appealed his attempted rape conviction on the basis that garda interviews were conducted in breach of his Constitutional right of access to a lawyer.
The Court of Criminal Appeal was satisfied gardai had made reasonable attempts to contact Gormley's solicitor.
But on review the Supreme Court has today ruled that as a consequence of his clear request for a lawyer, he was entitled to legal advice before being questioned.
However in a second related case brought by convicted Dublin murderer Craig White formerly of O'Devaney Gardens, the court has decided that there is no constitutional entitlement to legal advice before the taking of minimally intrusive forensic samples.
