The Court of Criminal Appeal has permitted a Dublin man who is serving life for his wife's murder to bring to the Supreme Court a point of law arising from his case.
The three-judge court yesterday certified the point of law as a matter of public importance. The legal issue relates to whether, in light of there having been breaches of Garda custody regulations in the case of John Diver, the trial judge was correct in deciding that statements made by Diver while in custody were admissible in the trial.
Diver (61), Kilnamanagh Road, Walkinstown, Dublin, was jailed for life in November 2000 after being convicted of murdering his wife Geraldine (42). The former hospital porter strangled his wife on December 2nd, 1996, after learning she was having an affair.
Last month, the Court of Criminal Appeal rejected Diver's appeal against conviction. Lawyers for Diver then brought an application to raise a point of law before the Supreme Court. Yesterday, the appeal court granted the application and referred for determination by the Supreme Court the question:"Whether, having regard to the nature of the breaches of custody regulations in this case, the trial judge correctly exercised his discretion in ruling in favour of the admissibility of each of the statements made by the applicant (Diver) while in detention under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1964."