Evidence in Criminal Trials
3rd Edition
Published on 19. September 2025
Book
Hardback
1312 pages
978-1-5265-2997-8 (ISBN)
Description
Shortlisted for DSBA Law Book of the Year Award 2020
Evidence in Criminal Trials is the only Irish textbook devoted exclusively to the subject of criminal evidence. It provides extensive coverage of law and practice on the admissibility of evidence, the presentation of evidence in court and the pre-trial gathering and disclosure of evidence. The work combines analysis of traditional evidentiary doctrine with discussion of its application in practice and takes account of policy development and reform. The subject of evidence is discussed in the broader context of fundamental rights protection under the Constitution, the ECHR and EU law.
This updated and extended third edition captures the many significant changes in the law of criminal evidence in recent years, including in the areas of:
- Evidence generated through use of technology: eg CCTV, mobile phones, social media;
- Garda custody
- Vulnerable witnesses
Key legislation and cases examined include:
- DPP v JD [2022] IESC 39 (right to silence)
- DPP v Behan [2022] IESC 23 (search warrants)
- DPP v Hannaway [2021] IESC 31 (surveillance)
- DPP v Quirke [2023] IESC 5 and [2023] IESC 20 (computer evidence/unconstitutionally obtained evidence)
- DPP v McAreavey and Smyth [2022] IECA 182; DPP v Dwyer [2023] IECA 70 (mobile phone evidence)
- Criminal Procedure Act 2021 (introduction of preliminary hearings)
- Garda Siochana (Powers) Bill 2021 (right to legal representation during garda detention)
- Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022 (anonymity of witnesses, certificate evidence)
- Garda Siochana (Recording Devices) Bill 2022 (bodycam evidence)
This book will appeal to individuals working and studying in the areas of criminal law and evidence. It will be essential reading for legal practitioners, academics and law students and it will be of interest to others engaged with criminal justice and the court system.
This title will be added to the Irish Criminal Law service on Bloomsbury Professional Online.
Evidence in Criminal Trials is the only Irish textbook devoted exclusively to the subject of criminal evidence. It provides extensive coverage of law and practice on the admissibility of evidence, the presentation of evidence in court and the pre-trial gathering and disclosure of evidence. The work combines analysis of traditional evidentiary doctrine with discussion of its application in practice and takes account of policy development and reform. The subject of evidence is discussed in the broader context of fundamental rights protection under the Constitution, the ECHR and EU law.
This updated and extended third edition captures the many significant changes in the law of criminal evidence in recent years, including in the areas of:
- Evidence generated through use of technology: eg CCTV, mobile phones, social media;
- Garda custody
- Vulnerable witnesses
Key legislation and cases examined include:
- DPP v JD [2022] IESC 39 (right to silence)
- DPP v Behan [2022] IESC 23 (search warrants)
- DPP v Hannaway [2021] IESC 31 (surveillance)
- DPP v Quirke [2023] IESC 5 and [2023] IESC 20 (computer evidence/unconstitutionally obtained evidence)
- DPP v McAreavey and Smyth [2022] IECA 182; DPP v Dwyer [2023] IECA 70 (mobile phone evidence)
- Criminal Procedure Act 2021 (introduction of preliminary hearings)
- Garda Siochana (Powers) Bill 2021 (right to legal representation during garda detention)
- Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022 (anonymity of witnesses, certificate evidence)
- Garda Siochana (Recording Devices) Bill 2022 (bodycam evidence)
This book will appeal to individuals working and studying in the areas of criminal law and evidence. It will be essential reading for legal practitioners, academics and law students and it will be of interest to others engaged with criminal justice and the court system.
This title will be added to the Irish Criminal Law service on Bloomsbury Professional Online.
More details
Edition
3rd edition
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 248 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-5265-2997-8 (9781526529978)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Liz Heffernan, LLB (Dublin), LLM (Dalhousie), LLM & JSD (Chicago), MEd (Dublin), BL, admitted New York & US Federal Bar, is an Associate Professor and Fellow at Trinity College Dublin. She currently teaches and supervises student research in the areas of Evidence and Criminal Law. Her publications include: Heffernan, Evidence in Criminal Trials (2nd ed, Bloomsbury Professional, 2020); Heffernan, Legal Professional Privilege (Bloomsbury Professional, 2011); Heffernan, Ryan and Imwinkelried, Evidentiary Foundations: Irish Edition (Bloomsbury Professional, 2008); and Heffernan, Scientific Evidence: Fingerprints and DNA (Bloomsbury Professional, 2006).
Professor Yvonne Daly is Professor of Criminal Law and Evidence at Dublin City University, where she teaches and supervises research in evidence law, criminal procedure, and criminal law. She holds a BCL from University College Cork and a PhD from Trinity College Dublin. Yvonne has a specific research focus on the legal regulation of criminal investigations. She engages in detailed doctrinal and comparative work across European and international jurisdictions, and empirical research which explores the law in action, as compared with the theory. Her research is grounded in fundamental human rights instruments, such as the Irish Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights, and it has been published widely. Yvonne is co-author of both Criminal Defence Representation at Garda Stations (Bloomsbury Professional, 2023) and Irish Criminal Justice: Theory, Process and Procedure (Clarus Press, 2010). She is a co-editor of Teaching Evidence Law: Contemporary Trends and Innovations (Routledge, 2020) and the Routledge Handbook of Irish Criminology (Routledge, 2016), and she edited Police Custody in Ireland (Routledge, 2024).
Professor Yvonne Daly is Professor of Criminal Law and Evidence at Dublin City University, where she teaches and supervises research in evidence law, criminal procedure, and criminal law. She holds a BCL from University College Cork and a PhD from Trinity College Dublin. Yvonne has a specific research focus on the legal regulation of criminal investigations. She engages in detailed doctrinal and comparative work across European and international jurisdictions, and empirical research which explores the law in action, as compared with the theory. Her research is grounded in fundamental human rights instruments, such as the Irish Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights, and it has been published widely. Yvonne is co-author of both Criminal Defence Representation at Garda Stations (Bloomsbury Professional, 2023) and Irish Criminal Justice: Theory, Process and Procedure (Clarus Press, 2010). She is a co-editor of Teaching Evidence Law: Contemporary Trends and Innovations (Routledge, 2020) and the Routledge Handbook of Irish Criminology (Routledge, 2016), and she edited Police Custody in Ireland (Routledge, 2024).
Content
1 Introduction
2 Testimony
3 The Accused
4 Accomplices and Protected Witnesses
5 Children and Vulnerable Adults
6 Victims of Crime
7 Complainants in Sexual Offence Trials
8 Hearsay
9 Hostile Witnesses and Previous Witness Statements
10 Identification Evidence
11 Expert Evidence
12 Unlawfully Obtained Evidence
13 Confession Evidence
14 Rights of Suspects in Pre-Trial Interviews
15 Gathering and Disclosing Evidence
16 Privilege and Informers
Index
2 Testimony
3 The Accused
4 Accomplices and Protected Witnesses
5 Children and Vulnerable Adults
6 Victims of Crime
7 Complainants in Sexual Offence Trials
8 Hearsay
9 Hostile Witnesses and Previous Witness Statements
10 Identification Evidence
11 Expert Evidence
12 Unlawfully Obtained Evidence
13 Confession Evidence
14 Rights of Suspects in Pre-Trial Interviews
15 Gathering and Disclosing Evidence
16 Privilege and Informers
Index