Latest news with #civiljuryappeal
Yahoo
01-08-2025
- Yahoo
MMA fighter Conor McGregor loses appeal in civil rape case
Conor McGregor has lost his civil jury appeal against a finding that he sexually assaulted a woman. In November, McGregor was ordered to pay £206,000 in damages plus costs to Nikita Hand, who accused him of raping her in a hotel in Dublin in 2018. McGregor appealed on the grounds that his lawyers believed his answers to police during interviews should not have been put before the jury. His barrister also argued that a question on the "issue paper" given to the jury to help them decide their verdict should have been worded differently. Three senior judges at the Court of Appeal in Dublin dismissed the appeal on all grounds. Conor McGregor was not in court for the ruling. Nikita Hand attended the hearing with several supporters. In relation to the police interviews, the court found McGregor's lawyers had not proved there was "a real risk of unfair trial". During the original case, the jury heard that McGregor said "no comment" around 100 times when he was interviewed by police. The issue paper asked the jurors if Conor McGregor had assaulted Ms Hand. McGregor's lawyers argued it should have specified "sexual assault" rather than "assault". But the appeal judges said that it was "simply unreal" to suggest that any member of the jury could have become confused about meaning of the question. They gave a unanimous ruling that McGregor's appeal should be dismissed "in its entirety". McGregor's friend, James Lawrence, also lost his appeal against the decision that he should pay costs, even though the jury found he did not assault Nikita Hand. Ms Hand had claimed in her action that Conor McGregor and James Lawrence both raped her. The men said they both had consensual sex with her. 'Retraumatised me over and over' Speaking outside court, Ms Hand said she was grateful for the support she has received throughout the civil action. "This appeal has retraumatised me over and over again, being forced to relive it, what happened has had a huge impact on me," she said. Ms Hand added: "To every survivor out there, I know how hard it is, but please, don't be silenced. "You deserve to be heard, you also deserve justice. Today, I can finally move on and try to heal." What was the basis for McGregor's appeal? The appeal was based around several issues arising from the civil trial at Dublin's High Court last year. They included reference to the question "did Conor McGregor assault Nikita Hand?" being asked of the jury on the issue paper. Conor McGregor's legal team said it should have specified sexual assault. However, a barrister for Ms Hand said "assault" covers a wide variety of assaults adding "what we were dealing with was assault by rape". He added the question put to the jury "was agreed and the jury could not have been confused by it". McGregor was also appealing an issue around the handling of his answers in interviews with gardaí (Irish police officers). His legal team explained that the jury heard McGregor gave about 100 "no comment" answers to gardaí. His barrister said he had a right to silence in police interviews and it was "left hanging", allowing the jury to draw an adverse inference. Ms Hand's legal team countered this argument by saying that if this was such a serious issue for McGregor at the time "surely an application to discharge the jury would have been made". Her barrister said such an application was not made. McGregor's legal appeal was also raising an issue about the judge's charge to the jury during the civil trial. Withdrawal of evidence At the beginning of the process, Ireland's Court of Appeal was told that McGregor had withdrawn an application to have new evidence entered at the appeal. The proposed evidence was from a couple, Samantha O'Reilly and Steven Cummins, who are former neighbours of Nikita Hand. A previous preliminary hearing was told that they claimed to have witnessed a row between Ms Hand and her former partner Stephen Redmond in December 2018. The court heard McGregor believed the new evidence suggested that bruising on Nikita Hand's body could have been caused by her former partner. In an affidavit, Ms Hand had described the allegations as untrue and lies. The senior judges said it was "somewhat mysterious" that what they described as an "important and contentious" part of the appeal had been "cast aside". They awarded Ms Hand costs in relation to this aspect of the case. Conor McGregor ordered to pay Nikita Hand's legal costs 'People want nothing to do with him': How Ireland turned away from Conor McGregor Conor McGregor appeal evidence withdrawal to be referred to prosecutors Woman wins civil rape case against Conor McGregor
Yahoo
01-08-2025
- Yahoo
MMA fighter Conor McGregor loses appeal in civil rape case
Conor McGregor has lost his civil jury appeal against a finding that he sexually assaulted a woman. In November, McGregor was ordered to pay £206,000 in damages plus costs to Nikita Hand, who accused him of raping her in a hotel in Dublin in 2018. McGregor appealed on the grounds that his lawyers believed his answers to police during interviews should not have been put before the jury. His barrister also argued that a question on the "issue paper" given to the jury to help them decide their verdict should have been worded differently. Three senior judges at the Court of Appeal in Dublin dismissed the appeal on all grounds. Conor McGregor was not in court for the ruling. Nikita Hand attended the hearing with several supporters. In relation to the police interviews, the court found McGregor's lawyers had not proved there was "a real risk of unfair trial". During the original case, the jury heard that McGregor said "no comment" around 100 times when he was interviewed by police. The issue paper asked the jurors if Conor McGregor had assaulted Ms Hand. McGregor's lawyers argued it should have specified "sexual assault" rather than "assault". But the appeal judges said that it was "simply unreal" to suggest that any member of the jury could have become confused about meaning of the question. They gave a unanimous ruling that McGregor's appeal should be dismissed "in its entirety". McGregor's friend, James Lawrence, also lost his appeal against the decision that he should pay costs, even though the jury found he did not assault Nikita Hand. Ms Hand had claimed in her action that Conor McGregor and James Lawrence both raped her. The men said they both had consensual sex with her. 'Retraumatised me over and over' Speaking outside court, Ms Hand said she was grateful for the support she has received throughout the civil action. "This appeal has retraumatised me over and over again, being forced to relive it, what happened has had a huge impact on me," she said. Ms Hand added: "To every survivor out there, I know how hard it is, but please, don't be silenced. "You deserve to be heard, you also deserve justice. Today, I can finally move on and try to heal." What was the basis for McGregor's appeal? The appeal was based around several issues arising from the civil trial at Dublin's High Court last year. They included reference to the question "did Conor McGregor assault Nikita Hand?" being asked of the jury on the issue paper. Conor McGregor's legal team said it should have specified sexual assault. However, a barrister for Ms Hand said "assault" covers a wide variety of assaults adding "what we were dealing with was assault by rape". He added the question put to the jury "was agreed and the jury could not have been confused by it". McGregor was also appealing an issue around the handling of his answers in interviews with gardaí (Irish police officers). His legal team explained that the jury heard McGregor gave about 100 "no comment" answers to gardaí. His barrister said he had a right to silence in police interviews and it was "left hanging", allowing the jury to draw an adverse inference. Ms Hand's legal team countered this argument by saying that if this was such a serious issue for McGregor at the time "surely an application to discharge the jury would have been made". Her barrister said such an application was not made. McGregor's legal appeal was also raising an issue about the judge's charge to the jury during the civil trial. Withdrawal of evidence At the beginning of the process, Ireland's Court of Appeal was told that McGregor had withdrawn an application to have new evidence entered at the appeal. The proposed evidence was from a couple, Samantha O'Reilly and Steven Cummins, who are former neighbours of Nikita Hand. A previous preliminary hearing was told that they claimed to have witnessed a row between Ms Hand and her former partner Stephen Redmond in December 2018. The court heard McGregor believed the new evidence suggested that bruising on Nikita Hand's body could have been caused by her former partner. In an affidavit, Ms Hand had described the allegations as untrue and lies. The senior judges said it was "somewhat mysterious" that what they described as an "important and contentious" part of the appeal had been "cast aside". They awarded Ms Hand costs in relation to this aspect of the case. Conor McGregor ordered to pay Nikita Hand's legal costs 'People want nothing to do with him': How Ireland turned away from Conor McGregor Conor McGregor appeal evidence withdrawal to be referred to prosecutors Woman wins civil rape case against Conor McGregor
Yahoo
01-08-2025
- Yahoo
MMA fighter Conor McGregor loses appeal in civil rape case
Conor McGregor has lost his civil jury appeal against a finding that he sexually assaulted a woman. In November, McGregor was ordered to pay £206,000 in damages plus costs to Nikita Hand, who accused him of raping her in a hotel in Dublin in 2018. McGregor appealed on the grounds that his lawyers believed his answers to police during interviews should not have been put before the jury. His barrister also argued that a question on the "issue paper" given to the jury to help them decide their verdict should have been worded differently. Three senior judges at the Court of Appeal in Dublin dismissed the appeal on all grounds. Conor McGregor was not in court for the ruling. Nikita Hand attended the hearing with several supporters. In relation to the police interviews, the court found McGregor's lawyers had not proved there was "a real risk of unfair trial". During the original case, the jury heard that McGregor said "no comment" around 100 times when he was interviewed by police. The issue paper asked the jurors if Conor McGregor had assaulted Ms Hand. McGregor's lawyers argued it should have specified "sexual assault" rather than "assault". But the appeal judges said that it was "simply unreal" to suggest that any member of the jury could have become confused about meaning of the question. They gave a unanimous ruling that McGregor's appeal should be dismissed "in its entirety". McGregor's friend, James Lawrence, also lost his appeal against the decision that he should pay costs, even though the jury found he did not assault Nikita Hand. Ms Hand had claimed in her action that Conor McGregor and James Lawrence both raped her. The men said they both had consensual sex with her. 'Retraumatised me over and over' Speaking outside court, Ms Hand said she was grateful for the support she has received throughout the civil action. "This appeal has retraumatised me over and over again, being forced to relive it, what happened has had a huge impact on me," she said. Ms Hand added: "To every survivor out there, I know how hard it is, but please, don't be silenced. "You deserve to be heard, you also deserve justice. Today, I can finally move on and try to heal." What was the basis for McGregor's appeal? The appeal was based around several issues arising from the civil trial at Dublin's High Court last year. They included reference to the question "did Conor McGregor assault Nikita Hand?" being asked of the jury on the issue paper. Conor McGregor's legal team said it should have specified sexual assault. However, a barrister for Ms Hand said "assault" covers a wide variety of assaults adding "what we were dealing with was assault by rape". He added the question put to the jury "was agreed and the jury could not have been confused by it". McGregor was also appealing an issue around the handling of his answers in interviews with gardaí (Irish police officers). His legal team explained that the jury heard McGregor gave about 100 "no comment" answers to gardaí. His barrister said he had a right to silence in police interviews and it was "left hanging", allowing the jury to draw an adverse inference. Ms Hand's legal team countered this argument by saying that if this was such a serious issue for McGregor at the time "surely an application to discharge the jury would have been made". Her barrister said such an application was not made. McGregor's legal appeal was also raising an issue about the judge's charge to the jury during the civil trial. Withdrawal of evidence At the beginning of the process, Ireland's Court of Appeal was told that McGregor had withdrawn an application to have new evidence entered at the appeal. The proposed evidence was from a couple, Samantha O'Reilly and Steven Cummins, who are former neighbours of Nikita Hand. A previous preliminary hearing was told that they claimed to have witnessed a row between Ms Hand and her former partner Stephen Redmond in December 2018. The court heard McGregor believed the new evidence suggested that bruising on Nikita Hand's body could have been caused by her former partner. In an affidavit, Ms Hand had described the allegations as untrue and lies. The senior judges said it was "somewhat mysterious" that what they described as an "important and contentious" part of the appeal had been "cast aside". They awarded Ms Hand costs in relation to this aspect of the case. Conor McGregor ordered to pay Nikita Hand's legal costs 'People want nothing to do with him': How Ireland turned away from Conor McGregor Conor McGregor appeal evidence withdrawal to be referred to prosecutors Woman wins civil rape case against Conor McGregor
Daily Mail
31-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Conor McGregor loses appeal in civil rape case
Conor McGregor has lost his civil jury appeal against a finding that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2018. Mr McGregor, 37, was ordered to pay nearly €250,000 in damages, plus costs, to Nikita Hand last November, after she accused him of raping her in a hotel in Dublin. McGregor denied the allegation and said he had 'fully consensual sex' with the plaintiff, also known as Nikita Ni Laimhin. He also denied causing bruising to the plaintiff. This news is breaking: more to follow Nikita Hand alleged that McGregor sexually assaulted her on December 9, 2018, and that another man, James Lawrence, did the same, Ireland's high court heard over two weeks of evidence. Ms Hand said that she and a friend made contact with McGregor, who she knew, after a work Christmas party. She said they were driven by McGregor to a party in a penthouse room of a south Dublin hotel where drugs and alcohol were consumed.
BBC News
31-07-2025
- BBC News
Conor McGregor: Former MMA fighter loses appeal in civil rape case
Conor McGregor has lost his civil jury appeal against a finding that he sexually assaulted a November, McGregor was ordered to pay £206,000 in damages plus costs to Nikita Hand, who accused him of raping her in a hotel in Dublin in 2018. This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.
