An appeal judge has been asked to throw out convictions and fines for obstructing gardaí against two sons of developer and amusement arcade owner Jim Kennedy.
Garrett Cooney SC told Judge Jacqueline Linnane in the Circuit Court yesterday that a warrant used by gardaí to search Amusement City Arcade, Westmoreland Street, Dublin, on November 2nd, 2002 was "questionable" and Garda evidence of the search was "unreliable".
Patrick Kennedy (31) and his brother, Joseph, (21) Deerpark Drive, Castleknock, Dublin, had been fined €1,500 each in the District Court in October last year by Judge Angela Ní Chondúin who, in spite of their denials, had found them guilty of obstructing gardaí in the execution of a search warrant.
Sgt Paul Reidy said the search had been carried out as part of an investigation into a case of false imprisonment in Milltown. Gardaí had heard that some suspects had entered the arcade on November 1st and a search warrant had been secured to seize CCTV footage.
He said the Kennedy brothers had shouted and had been generally unco-operative and aggressive during the search and had stood in front of them as they attempted to move around the arcade. He said Joseph Kennedy had attempted to grab an evidence bag containing videotapes.
Mr Cooney, who appeared with Martin Dully for the Kennedy brothers, sought a direction from Judge Linnane to dismiss the case on the basis that the search warrant had been defective. He said the warrant had been obtained by a Garda inspector who had not actually been involved in the investigation of the alleged offence being investigated by gardaí, a fact that had not been made known to the District Court judge who had approved the warrant.
Mr Cooney said the requirements for the granting of a search warrant should have been strictly observed and it should not have been obtained or granted on an ad-hoc basis. A careless and shoddy attitude had been adopted to the inviolability of a person's property. He submitted that evidence given by gardaí had been unreliable and said a properly instructed jury would not have been satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt.
Judge Linnane said she would consider both the submissions of Mr Cooney and the opposing submissions of Ronan O'Neill, chief prosecution officer, and give her decision next week.