A high Court judge has said an application by Patrick "Dutchy" Holland for an Article 40 inquiry into the legality of his detention in Portlaoise Prison should be dealt with urgently. Holland (60), who is serving a 12-year sentence on drugs charges, has brought the habeas corpus application on more than 30 grounds. In late 1997 he was jailed for 20 years by the non-jury Special Criminal Court this was later reduced to 12 years by the Court of Criminal Appeal.
During his trial a garda told the SCC she believed Holland had shot journalist Veronica Guerin. Holland was never charged with the murder and has denied the allegations in interviews. He was convicted on the drugs charges based on statements by protected witness Charles Bowden and his own unsigned confession.
Holland claims he was deprived of the constitutional right to a fair trial because the State withheld forensic evidence and because of contradictions in evidence against him by Bowden, and a wide range of other matters.
Among the matters advanced by Holland is a report by an English forensic expert saying the bullets Bowden claimed to have loaded into the gun used to kill Ms Guerin were not the same ones found in her body.
When the matter came before Mr Justice Murphy yesterday, the judge said he had read the extensive papers advanced by Holland in support of his application.
In his view Holland needed the help of legal counsel and he would recommend that Holland should receive legal aid for this. The judge said some matters Holland raised appeared to be seeking to appeal matters already tried. There was also an indication that a witness had given evidence at variance with the evidence the same witness had given in another case.
"In fairness to you, you should be assigned counsel," the judge told Holland, who was representing himself.
Holland expressed anxiety that the allocation of counsel should not delay his Article 40 application. He said the State had "edited everything that I got" - a reference to documents Holland had sought and recently secured from the State relating to his trial.
"You have to admit, judge, I didn't get any kind of a trial," Holland said. He said the State had withheld forensic evidence and his solicitor, Mr Jim Orange, had been arrested. Mr Orange was arrested by Criminal Assets Bureau detectives two hours after Holland was arrested when he arrived by ferry at Dun Laoghaire on April 9th 1997. Holland had returned to Ireland on Mr Orange's advice because of stories circulating linking him with Ms Guerin's murder.
When Holland was arrested he had no access to Mr Orange because the solicitor was also arrested. However, the Special Criminal Court accepted Garda evidence that it was a coincidence that the two men were arrested on unrelated matters on the same day by two different Garda units.
After citing matters related to the arrest of Mr Orange, Holland repeated his concern to Mr Justice Murphy that the matter should be dealt with urgently and urged that it continue as an Article 40 inquiry. "I'm still in prison over it," he said.
Mr Justice Murphy said, if it was up to himself personally, he would make time to hear it. It was a matter that should be dealt with urgently. That would be up to Holland's legal advisers.
