The State is likely to face a large compensation claim from Mr Frank Shortt, a Co Donegal nightclub owner and chartered accountant who spent three years in jail after allegedly allowing drugs to be sold at the entertainment venue. Yesterday he won his appeal against the conviction.
Mr Shortt told The Irish Times: "I have suffered greatly at the hands of the establishment, but justice, which has been absent for so long, has been achieved here today."
His counsel, Mr Eoin McGonigal SC, said he would be raising at a later date the issue of a miscarriage of justice. A certificate of miscarriage, issued by the court, provides the basis for seeking compensation.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) consented to Mr Shortt's appeal because of allegations against certain gardai in Co Donegal, some of whom were investigating him. He is considering whether these allegations warrant prosecutions.
There was reference at the hearing yesterday to a report of an investigation by an Assistant Commissioner, Mr Kevin Carty, into alleged corrupt practices by members of the Garda Siochana in Co Donegal. That report has gone to the DPP.
Mr Shortt was convicted in 1995 of knowingly allowing drugs to be sold in his nightclub in Quigley's Point, Co Donegal. He was fined £10,000 and sentenced to three years' imprisonment. He was released in 1998.
In the Court of Criminal Appeal yesterday the DPP said he was not resisting Mr Shortt's appeal against the conviction because of allegations against a member of the Garda Siochana in Co Donegal. The issue arose in the context of a motion for discovery of documents relating to the appeal. Counsel for the DPP, Ms Miriam Reynolds SC, told the court that the allegations had gone to the DPP and he was considering if "certain actions" should be taken in relation to them.
The fact that the DPP did not resist Mr Shortt's appeal suggests that the inquiry contains material which, had it been known to the defence at the time of his trial, could have cast doubt on the evidence against him. This would mean his conviction was not "safe".
It was open to the DPP to seek a retrial, but, given that Mr Shortt had already served a sentence, Ms Reynolds said no useful purpose would be served. His conviction will now be quashed.
The next step for Mr Shortt's legal team is to seek a certificate of miscarriage of justice. That has to be decided "on the balance of probabilities" in the light of all the information available. The case has been adjourned until January 29th when the motion of discovery, for diaries belonging to an unidentified woman, will be sought.
If Mr Shortt obtains a certificate of miscarriage of justice his lawyers can then ask the court to fix compensation.
Following his imprisonment Mr Shortt's nightclub was burned down. He told The Irish Times yesterday that he was a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, and that the institute had begun proceedings to strike him off when he was convicted.