The Irish Council for Civil Liberties welcomes overturning of Letterkenny man’s conviction

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties says a unanimous Supreme Court judgment quashing a Donegal man’s attempted rape conviction should send the Government clear message on fair trial reforms.
The five-judge court overturned the 2008 conviction of Raymond Gormley of Glenwood Park, Letterkenny who was jailed for six years for the attempted rape of a mother of two as she slept in her bedroom on April 24th, 2005.
The court ruled statements by Mr Gormley to gardaí, after he had requested a solicitor but before that solicitor arrived, were inadmissible as evidence.
Mr Justice Frank Clarke said that, given previous European court and other decisions, the Supreme Court’s finding that the constitutional right to a fair trial includes a right to legal advice before questioning “can hardly come as a surprise”.
Welcoming the decision The Irish Council for Civil Liberties said the Government should heed the Supreme Court’s clear call for law reform in this area.
The council says the law must now be changed to require that a lawyer be present when people in custody are questioned by members of An Garda Síochána.