Caldwell, Daniel

Daniel Caldwell was convicted in May 1991 of false imprisonment and received a sentence of ten years’ imprisonment.

The CCRC received an application for review of the conviction in July 2008.

Mr Caldwell was one of a number of defendants accused of falsely imprisoning the victim at a property in West Belfast in January 1990.

The trial was held in a “Diplock Court” before a judge sitting alone.

During review, the CCRC obtained new sensitive material that the CCRC considered gave rise to grounds to refer Mr Caldwell’s case to the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal.

This new material was relevant to the question of whether a trial of the defendants should have taken place.

The material had not been made available to the Director of Public Prosecutions when he decided that the defendants should be prosecuted.

The extent of disclosure had therefore been insufficient.

Because this material was withheld from the defence, the defendants were deprived of the opportunity to apply for a stay of proceedings on the grounds of abuse of process.

In addition, the CCRC concluded that had the material been produced at trial, it may have had a significant effect on its outcome.

The CCRC referred the conviction in July 2008.

The Northern Ireland Court of Appeal quashed the conviction in October 2008.