The King v Arthur McGrillen
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judge | Treacy LJ |
| Judgment Date | 09 November 2023 |
| Neutral Citation | [2023] NICA 68 |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Northern Ireland) |
1
Neutral Citation No: [2023] NICA 68
Judgment: approved by the court for handing down
(subject to editorial corrections)*
Ref: TRE12312
ICOS No: 2021/80124/A01
Delivered: 09/11/2023
IN HIS MAJESTY’S COURT OF APPEAL IN NORTHERN IRELAND
___________
THE KING
v
ARTHUR McGRILLEN
___________
Gregory Berry KC with Stephen Toal (instructed by Finucane Toner Solicitors) for the
Applicant
Ciaran Murphy KC with Laura Ievers (instructed by the PPS) for the Respondent
___________
Before: Treacy LJ, Horner LJ and Kinney J
___________
TREACY LJ (delivering the judgment of the court
Introduction
[1] The applicant was refused leave to appeal against sentence by the Single
Judge, Fowler J on 3 January 2023. He renewed his application for leave to appeal
before this court. He contended that the trial judge erred in selecting a starting point
of 7 years resulting in a manifestly excessive sentence being imposed. At the
conclusion of the hearing we dismissed the appeal with detailed reasons to follow.
[2] The applicant was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, half to be served in
custody and half on licence, imposed upon him following his guilty plea to one
count of causing death by dangerous driving; and one count of causing grievous
bodily injury by dangerous driving. Both counts are contrary to Article 9 of the
Road Traffic (NI) Order 1995 (“the 1995 Order”).
Background
[3] The applicant was committed to Downpatrick Crown Court on 6 January
2022. On arraignment on 21 February 2022, he pleaded not guilty to counts 1 and 2.
Some months later, on 19 May 2022, the applicant applied to be re-arraigned and
pleaded guilty to both counts.
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