A man seeking to overturn a double murder conviction must have his appeal reheard after an appeal court judge forgot he oversaw the original trial.
The appeal bid by Jason O’Driscoll over the murders of Anthony Burnett and Joseph Redmond in 2012 was heard for two hours in the Court of Appeal before it was pointed out that one of the three appeal court judges had presided over his original trial in 2017.
In December 2017, after a six-week trial, a jury told Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy they could not reach a unanimous or majority verdict in O’Driscoll’s case.
O’Driscoll (42) of Richmond Avenue, Fairview, Dublin 3, had pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Burnett (31) and Mr Redmond (25) in Co Louth on March 7th, 2012.
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However, following a retrial, O’Driscoll was sentenced to life imprisonment in October 2018 by Mr Justice Michael White after he was convicted of the double murder by the 10-to-two majority verdict of a jury.
Mr Burnett and Mr Redmond had travelled to sell O’Driscoll a stolen car.
They died of gunshot wounds to their heads before petrol was used to set fire to a black Volkswagen Golf containing their bodies.
The two deceased were from Ballybough in the north inner city in Dublin and were described by the State as “small-time criminals” involved in car theft.
O’Driscoll’s appeal against his conviction was heard for more than two hours on Tuesday morning before Mr Justice John Edwards, Mr Justice McCarthy and Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy in the Court of Appeal.
After breaking for lunch, O’Driscoll’s defence barrister told the court that Mr Justice McCarthy had been the judge in O’Driscoll’s original 2017 trial.
Seán Guerin SC, O’Driscoll’s barrister, said the grounds for O’Driscoll’s appeal had been litigated in that trial.
Mr Justice McCarthy said that he had been in the original trial and “should have remembered”.
Mr Justice Edwards noted that it had been a long time since the original trial.
He said the case would be adjourned for the three-judge court to reconstitute and the appeal to be reheard without Mr Justice McCarthy.
A new appeal date was set for November 13th, 2025.
Mr Justice McCarthy was appointed to the High Court in 2007 and to the Court of Appeal in 2018.
