The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a further appeal by architect Graham Dwyer against his conviction for the murder of Elaine O'Hara in 2012.
Dwyer’s appeal was rejected by the Court of Appeal earlier this year, but the higher court has decided his case presents issues of general public importance and it is in the interests of justice to permit a further appeal.
The appeal centres on the admissibility of call data records retained and accessed under legislation that was later found to breach EU law.
Mobile phone metadata linking Dwyer to other phones and to various locations was an important part of the evidence in his trial.
The Supreme Court has determined that issues of general public importance raised by Dwyer include the test to be applied to determine if such evidence should have been admitted.
Dwyer has also challenged the appeal court’s decision that there was no miscarriage of justice arising from the admission of the call data records.
That means that even if it had decided the evidence should not have been admitted, it would still have dismissed the appeal.
The Supreme Court is also due to give judgment on two other cases relating to the use of mobile phone data in criminal cases.
It said that refusing permission to Dwyer to appeal, while judgment is awaited in those cases, would give rise to a risk of injustice to him, as his conviction would be final regardless of the outcome of the other cases.
No date has been set for the hearing of Dwyer’s appeal.
