The Court of Magistrates accepted a guilty plea to grievous bodily harm after a night of drinking and passed two years' imprisonment suspended for four, with notice to the immigration authorities although the victim wanted no complaint.
The Court of Criminal Appeal acquitted a man of suppressing evidence of his own drug offence, held that aggravated possession needs no proof of intent to supply, and replaced his prison term with probation under article 22(9a).
The Court of Criminal Appeal acquitted a son of making his parents suffer under article 257C, holding that the offence targets those with a duty of care, and cut his prison term to 18 months while other domestic violence findings stood.
The Court of Criminal Appeal treated four animal welfare charges as a single offence, held that a dog's new keeper does not owe the transfer notice, and struck out a dog ban the law did not allow when the offence was committed.
The Court of Criminal Appeal held that a continuing failure to pay maintenance can carry up to three months' imprisonment, but replaced P.A.'s prison term with a €150 fine once the arrears were paid. It matters in every maintenance prosecution.
The Criminal Court dismissed H.Z.'s pleas against a homicide indictment, holding that intent is for the jurors and that an accomplice's evidence after a plea bargain is admissible. Fair-hearing complaints belong before the constitutional courts.
The Court of Criminal Appeal refused to reopen a magistrate's finding that a girl's account of sexual offences was credible, and kept an eight-year prison term. It matters to anyone appealing a conviction that turns on one witness.
The Court of Criminal Appeal held that a request for money made to influence a tender completes the offence of trading in influence, and that the punishment follows the date the offence was committed, not the charge period. It matters in public procurement and corruption cases.
The Criminal Court held that prescription in a complex, inquiry-led financial case ran from the closure of the magistrate's report, and measured each period without the continuing-offence increase. It matters to anyone defending or prosecuting long financial cases.
The Court of Criminal Appeal increased a sentence for a non-consensual sexual act that fell below the minimum once a mandatory aggravation applied. Prosecutors and defence lawyers should work out the aggravated range before making sentencing submissions.
The Court of Magistrates placed a first offender who admitted threats and a false report under probation and treatment orders, not prison. It matters to defence lawyers whose clients have limited understanding, because expert and probation reports decided the sentence.
The Court of Criminal Appeal struck out an uninsured-driving charge added more than eight months after the offence and held that drug analysis needs no accredited laboratory. Defence lawyers facing added charges or laboratory challenges should note both points.