The High Court will rule today on how much compensation former Co Donegal nightclub owner Frank Shortt is entitled to as a result of his wrongful conviction and imprisonment on charges of allowing the sale of drugs at his Point Inn nightclub at Inishowen.
In his action against the Garda Commissioner and the State, Mr Shortt (69), a married father of five, of Redcastle, Co Donegal, is seeking damages of several million euro under a number of headings.
At the opening of the case last October, counsel for Mr Shortt said he was effectively a destroyed person, internally to himself and externally to the community.
Mr Eoin McGonigal SC said Mr Shortt's family were referred to as the family of "that bastard Frank Shortt, the drug dealer" and were all shunned in the local community in Co Donegal.
He said Mr Shortt had served 27 months in prison of a three year sentence, including some months in "inhuman" conditions. He had sought temporary release on 14 occasions but only secured it once.
When he was released, he was euphoric initially but quickly became depressed, counsel said. He was aged 62 and had no income or business.
He realised the destruction that had happened to his life and family but still believed that justice would right the wrongs done.
Mr Shortt's claim for compensation arises from a Court of Criminal Appeal (CCA) decision certifying that he was a victim of a miscarriage of justice arising from his conviction in 1995. Mr Shortt's initial appeal against conviction was rejected. Following his release in 1992, he pursued the matter and secured a fresh appeal. In November 2002 the Director of Public Prosecutions informed the CCA he was not opposing Mr Shortt's appeal.
In July 2002, the CCA decided that Mr Shortt had been the victim of a miscarriage of justice. The court ruled that the miscarriage was on grounds of newly discovered facts - the deliberate suppression of material by two gardaí, Det Garda Noel McMahon and Supt Kevin Lennon.
Both gardaí were formerly attached to Buncrana Garda station and were involved in "Operation Spider", an undercover Garda operation into alleged drug dealing at the Point Inn in 1992. Det McMahon was the chief prosecution witness at Mr Shortt's trial while Supt Lennon, then an inspector, headed the investigation.