The Director of Public Prosecutions v. Graham Dwyer
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Summary
Facts
The case arose from the prosecution of Graham Dwyer for murder, where key evidence consisted of mobile phone metadata retained and accessed under Ireland’s Communications (Retention of Data) Act 2011. After Dwyer’s conviction, the Irish High Court ruled in 2019 that the 2011 Act breached the EU Charter rights to privacy and data protection because it allowed indiscriminate retention of metadata and lacked independent authorisation for access. The State appealed, arguing the evidence was still lawful and admissible.
Legal Question
Whether the retention and use of mobile phone metadata obtained under the invalidated Communications (Retention of Data) Act 2011 breached Dwyer’s constitutional and EU privacy rights to such an extent that the evidence should have been excluded, and whether its admission rendered his murder trial unfair.
Decision
Although the High Court had focused on legal invalidity, the Supreme Court balanced that against the fundamental necessity of the evidence in a serious murder trial. It acknowledged the legal defects in data access mechanisms but held these did not render the trial unfair.
Ultimately, the Court dismissed the State’s appeal meaning Dwyer’s murder conviction stands. It recognised the importance of lawful data safeguards yet found the admission of the evidence didn’t breach fair trial standards.