Supreme Court to hear appeal on rights of gardaí to use handcuffs

The right of gardaí to use handcuffs when arresting drunk drivers is to be considered for a second time by the Supreme Court as a matter of public importance.

The appeals arise from three unconnected District Court prosecutions where the arrests were deemed unlawful because gardaí handcuffed suspects without objective justification.

In one of the cases, the arresting garda gave evidence the handcuffing was precautionary because the driver was stopped on the side ...