NEWS – “without comment”
Use of Mobile Phone Data in criminal investigations/proceedings – Republic of Ireland – Dwyer ruling
The European ruling in Graham Dwyer’s case that the indiscriminate retention of mobile phone data for use in criminal investigations is a breach of law, does not automatically mean that such evidence should be excluded, a High Court judge has found.
Mr Justice Hunt said it would not be appropriate for him to comment on the European court’s approach,
“save to say it exhibits a strange and unusual set of priorities.”
Graham Dwyer fallout: judge makes significant ruling on mobile data Graham Dwyer Graham Dwyer
Eoin Reynolds – Independent ie
July 08 2022
The European ruling in Graham Dwyer’s case that the indiscriminate retention of mobile phone data for use in criminal investigations is a breach of law, does not automatically mean that such evidence should be excluded, a High Court judge has found.
Mr Justice Tony Hunt found that gardai investigating a Dublin shooting were entitled to access the killer’s phone records.
It is the first ruling in an Irish court since the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decision in the Dwyer case.
Mr Justice Hunt said:
the right to privacy cannot extend to participation in criminal activity, is not absolute and must be balanced with the rights of others and the “proper requirements of the common good”.
He said a right under European law should be considered in “precisely” the same way that a right under Irish law would be considered and does not become “a clove of garlic guaranteed to ward off all domestic vampires.” Mr Justice Hunt was asked to rule on the controversial use of mobile phone data in the trial of Wayne Cooney, who was convicted on Tuesday of murdering 22-year-old Jordan Davis.
Earlier this year the CJEU ruled in favour of murderer Graham Dwyer in his challenge to a 2011 law that required mobile phone companies to keep data relating to calls, texts and the location of mobile phones for two years. Gardai investigating serious crimes have accessed that data to discover who suspected criminals were communicating with and to find out the general location of phones at relevant times.
The evidence gleaned has been used to identify and convict numerous high-profile criminals. Mr Justice Hunt’s ruling is not binding on other judges, but it is the first indication of how Irish courts could interpret the European court’s ruling.
Killer Graham Dwyer ‘not getting hopes up’ about appeal win Graham Dwyer’s murder conviction was not solely based on mobile phone evidence Mr Justice Hunt said it would not be appropriate for him to comment on the European court’s approach, “save to say it exhibits a strange and unusual set of priorities.”
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UPDATE: $100k FBI Reward for locating Ruja Ignatova – Bitcoin Fraud
News without comment of July 5, 2022:
The Bulgarian woman who is wanted by the FBI for an alleged scam involving cryptocurrency was in Ireland before she vanished, according to a British journalist who has been searching for her for years.
Dr Ruja Ignatova is accused of defrauding investors out of $4bn by selling a fake cryptocurrency called OneCoin.