McCauley, Martin

Martin McCauley was tried at Belfast Crown Court in 1985, charged with the unlawful possession of three rifles. He pleaded not guilty but was convicted and received a suspended sentence of two years’ imprisonment.

Mr McCauley did not appeal against his conviction at the time. In November 2005 he applied to the CCRC for a review of his case.

Having considered a range of issues, the CCRC decided to refer Mr McCauley’s conviction to the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal.

The decision was based on information obtained by the CCRC that was not known by the trial judge and that, in the CCRC’s view, raised a real possibility that the Court of Appeal would quash the conviction.

The information was of a sensitive nature.

The CCRC referred the conviction in January 2013.

The Northern Ireland Court of Appeal quashed the conviction in September 2014.