The Northern Ireland Court of Criminal Appeal today fixed June 2026 dates to hear the appeal by our client John McDevitt against 5 convictions dating from December 1986. Mr McDevitt (61) from Derry, was convicted on 12th December 1986 by Mr Justice MacDermott sitting without a jury on one count of murder, 2 counts of…
PRESS RELEASE NORTHERN IRELAND COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEAL QUASHES 3 CONVICTIONS FOR LAURENCE PATRICK O NEILL ISSUED BY HARTE COYLE COLLINS, SOLICITORS & ADVOCATES ISSUED 25TH FEBRUARY 2026 The Northern Ireland Court of Criminal Appeal has today quashed 3 convictions for possession of ammunition, possession of ammunition without a firearm certificate and possession of explosives…
Harte Coyle Collins, Solicitors & Advocates were successful in an Appeal against sentence on 16th May 2025 before the Court of Appeal. Our client had received a 7 year with 3 Extended for an offence of GBH with intent. The Panel of 3 Appeal Judges found that the disparity between credit awarded to the co…
Man in court over mother’s murder in Belfast Image source,Pacemaker Published 16 September 2024 A 21-year-old man has appeared in court charged with the murder of his mother in east Belfast on Friday. The body of 43-year-old Rachel Simpson was discovered in a garage beside a property on the Castlereagh Road. Nathan Simpson, of Castlereagh…
It is a priority to make sure that young persons in police custody are properly represented by experienced lawyers. Persons under the age of 18 in Northern Ireland are treated as a vulnerable group of persons when in police custody after arrest. They are entitled to both the presence of an Appropriate Adult and the…
Harte Coyle Collins, Solicitors & Advocates are delighted to have represented the first client to be sentenced before the new innovative Substance Abuse Court in Laganside Courthouse, Belfast. Experienced criminal defence lawyer, Diarmaid Kelly, represented a client before the resident District Judge Mrs Fiona Bagnall over a period of 6 months before the client was…
If you are facing allegations or charges of complex fraud, cyber-crime or crypto-currency crime you will require expert legal assistance. Mr Diarmaid Kelly of Harte Coyle Collins, Solicitors & Advocates, is an expert in complex fraud cases and allegations of cyber-crime and crypto-currency crime. Mr Kelly said today; “This is an area of law which…
An innovative multi-agency “substance misuse” court in Belfast Magistrates Court aims to treat the symptoms of drug and alcohol abuse rather than just punishing the offender by imposing a prison sentence. The Substance Misuse Court, a pilot scheme in Northern Ireland, involves Addiction NI, the Probation Board of Northern Ireland and mental health agencies and…
It is a priority to make sure that young persons in police custody are properly represented by experienced lawyers. Persons under the age of 18 in Northern Ireland are treated as a vulnerable group of persons when in police custody after arrest. They are entitled to both the presence of an Appropriate Adult and the…
Harte Coyle Collins congratulates 2 worthy winners of the firm’s PACE prize awarded at the Institute of Professional Legal Studies, Queen’s University Belfast last week. The winners, Sarah Mulholland (2017) and Grainne McAnaney (2018) received the awards from the firm for their excellence in relation to the law and procedures applicable to suspects in custody…