McDonnell’s (Elizabeth) Application
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judge | Morgan LCJ |
| Judgment Date | 2015 |
| Neutral Citation | [2015] NICA 72 |
| Year | 2015 |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Northern Ireland) |
| Date | 16 December 2015 |
1
Neutral Citation No: [2015] NICA 72
Ref:
MOR9826
Judgment: approved by the Court for handing down
Delivered:
16/12/15
(subject to editorial corrections)*
IN HER MAJESTY’S COURT OF APPEAL IN NORTHERN IRELAND
________
ON APPEAL FROM THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE IN NORTHERN IRELAND
QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION (JUDICIAL REVIEW)
________
McDonnell’s (Elizabeth) Application [2015] NICA 72
IN THE MATTER OF AN APPLICATION BY ELIZABETH McDONNELL FOR
JUDICIAL REVIEW
Before: Morgan LCJ, Gillen LJ and Weatherup LJ
________
MORGAN LCJ (delivering the judgment of the court)
[1] This is an appeal from a decision of Treacy J who dismissed the appellant’s
judicial review proceedings challenging decisions taken by the senior coroner in
connection with the anonymity and screening of certain prison service witnesses
who gave evidence at the inquest touching the death of James McDonnell (the
deceased). The challenges concerned, firstly, the decision, finalised on 17 April 2013,
to grant anonymity and screening to all of the prison service witnesses who applied
for it and, secondly, the determination by the coroner that he was functus officio in
respect of an application to review whether the anonymity decisions should remain
in place made by letter dated 22 May 2013, after the inquest verdict had been
delivered and signed on 16 May 2013. Ms Quinlivan QC and Ms Doherty QC
appeared for the appellant, Mr Simpson QC and Mr Daly appeared for the coroner
and Mr Lyttle QC appeared with Mr Robinson for the Northern Ireland Prison
Service. We are grateful to all counsel for their helpful oral and written submissions.
Background
[2] The deceased died in prison on 30 March 1996 after suffering a heart attack. A
short time earlier he had been subject to a control and restraint procedure by prison
officers. The background was that the deceased was being transferred from HMP
Belfast to HMP Maghaberry that morning. He had just learned that his father had
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3 cases
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McQuillan's (Margaret) Application
...Application [2011] NIQB 125, Brigid Hughes’ Application [2018] NIQB 30 at paragraphs 25-26 and McDonnell’s (Elizabeth) Application [2015] NICA 72 at paragraph 15. As a general proposition we consider that the disadvantages of satellite litigation in the area of inquests can be read across t......
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In the matter of an inquest into the death of Patrick Pearse Jordan - Postscript
...me to two authorities, the decision of the Court of Appeal in In the matter of an Application by Elizabeth McDonnell for Judicial Review [2015] NICA 72 and the decision of the Court Martial Appeal Court in R v Marine A and Others [2013] EWCA Crim 2367. In McDonnell, the Court of Appeal obse......
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In the matter of an inquest into the death of Patrick Pearse Jordan
...me to two authorities, the decision of the Court of Appeal in In the matter of an Application by Elizabeth McDonnell for Judicial Review [2015] NICA 72 and the decision of the Court Martial Appeal Court in R v Marine A and Others [2013] EWCA Crim 2367. In McDonnell, the Court of Appeal obse......