An application to halt the trial of Mr George Redmond on a corruption charge due to adverse media publicity has been refused by Judge Joseph Matthews at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Judge Matthews heard submissions during a six-day hearing in December last in relation to an application by the former assistant Dublin city and county manager's defence team to have the scheduled trial stopped.
Mr Redmond (81) has pleaded not guilty to receiving IR£10,000 on a date between June 1st, 1985, and June 1st, 1986, as an inducement or reward for doing or forbearing to do anything in respect of a compulsory purchase order by Dublin City Council on 167 acres of land situated at Bussardstown and Coolmine.
Judge Matthews said "It is quite clear and well settled in Irish law that the preferred option of the Superior Courts in this jurisdiction when attempting to counter adverse publicity is to refuse to prohibit trials but to advise trial judges to deal with the problem by way of adjournment and directions."
The application made in respect of Mr Redmond was for either an adjournment of the trial with liberty to either party to re-enter the matter, or adjournment to a specific date.
In refusing the former application Judge Matthews adjourned the trial to the first week of July 2006, subject to further submissions by counsel following consideration of his judgment.
Mr Brendan Grehan SC, for Mr Redmond, earlier told Judge Matthews that there had been no easing in publicity surrounding his client in recent years.
Mr Grehan argued that a jury would be privy to and influenced by information that would not be admissible in Mr Redmond's criminal trial. Mr Angus Buttanshaw BL, for Mr Redmond, said there would be an "unavoidable risk of unfairness".
Mr Patrick J McCarthy SC, for the prosecution, accepted during the December hearing that there had been very significant adverse publicity surrounding Mr Redmond but argued that a jury could be directed on the matter.
Judge Matthews accepted that there had been a "considerable amount of adverse publicity" in relation to Mr Redmond but said he was "not satisfied that the applicant had discharged the onus of establishing that it will as a matter of probability lead to real and unavoidable risk of an unavoidably unfair trial".
Judge Matthews said "any further publication of prejudicial material either about the impending trial or about the application short of the trial date in the first available date in July, if it were to occur between now and the date of trial would of course leave open to the applicant the possibility of making a further application for postponement".
He remanded Mr Redmond on continuing bail to a date in March when the matter will be mentioned again after counsel have had time to consider the judgment.