A High Court judge yesterday made an order that a District Court file on Patrick "Dutchy" Holland should be made available to his lawyers.
Mr Justice Henry Abbott made the order after hearing from Holland's counsel, Martin Giblin SC, that the District Court staff had told Holland's solicitor they would need a court order before they could make the file available.
Holland (66), from Dublin, was convicted of possession of cannabis by the Special Criminal Court in November 1997. That court imposed a 20-year sentence but that term was later reduced on appeal to 12 years.
In proceedings under Article 40 of the Constitution, Holland is challenging the legality of his detention. Holland, who is serving a sentence for drug offences, was not in court for the brief hearing.
To facilitate the production of the District Court file, the Article 40 proceedings were adjourned yesterday to next Monday.
The challenge to Holland's detention relates to a claim that a certificate from the DPP sanctioning his trial before the non-jury Special Criminal Court was not in order.