Judges asked to open sealed document in Morrison case
Judges were urged today to open a sealed document setting out confidential reasons why former top republican Danny Morrison's conviction for kidnapping an alleged British agent has been classed as unsafe.
In an unprecedented development the Director of Public Prosecutions has decided not to stand over guilty verdicts in eight linked cases based on new evidence hidden from defence teams.
Crown counsel Gerald Simpson QC told the Court of Appeal a statement of reasons supplied by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, which investigates suspected miscarriages of justice, remains unopened.
He said: "It's the application of the prosecution that your Lordships should receive and read the annex so the court can be in a position to conclude whether or not the decision of the Director not to maintain the safety of the conviction is an appropriate decision."
Morrison, 55, the former Sinn Fein director of publicity who famously coined the republican twin-track strategy slogan 'the Armalite and the ballot box', was sentenced to eight years imprisonment over the false imprisonment of Sandy Lynch by the IRA in Belfast in 1990.
His barrister Charles Adair QC claimed it was unique for the Commission to act as it had done without telling the defence why.
Mr Adair said: "We know nothing of the reasons for the case being referred back, and on the other hand the prosecution do know the reasons and have seen the confidential annex."
Arguing that the court should see the unopened document, he said a written judgment had detailed why his client was convicted.
"It peaks for itself that if that conviction was unsafe there should also be a written judgment setting out the reasons why the conviction was unsafe," Mr Adair insisted.
After Lord Justice Girvan suggested it may be relevant to any issue of compensation, the barrister replied: "Of course - whether it's a technical matter or something that was just an appalling miscarriage."
Mr Simpson, who told the court the Lord Chief Justice had directed that the document be sealed, suggested the judges should study its contents before deciding now to proceed.
A new hearing was listed for next month, when the convictions may formally be quashed.
Lord Justice Higgins told the lawyers: "The court will endeavour to deal with the issue which Mr Simpson has requested it to consider on that date. I'm not sure whether it will be possible to do that."
Morrison, who attended the hearing, said afterwards that he was pleased that the Prosecution Service had declared it would not opposed the conviction being set aside.
But he claimed it was unfair to rely on information hidden from the defence.
"We are all entitled to see what these documents say, provided it isn't endangering anyone," he said.
"We appeared in a trial which lasted for weeks in front of the media and all sorts of things were said.
"We were convicted in public, given reasons in public and given the new dispensation we have to be given reasons for the original convictions being overturned. The court owes us that."
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Thursday 09 February 2012
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