Man arrested as judge attacked while hearing family law case

A District Court judge was hospitalised after she was assaulted while hearing a case in the family law courts on Friday.

The assault happened at Dolphin House in Temple Bar shortly before 1pm.

Judge Miriam Walsh, who was only appointed over the summer, had been hearing a domestic violence order case when she was assaulted by the respondent, a man in his 30s.

An elderly couple had sought a safety order against their son, who had behavioural difficulties.

A safety order prohibits a person from being violent or threatening to use violence against another person, but does not bar a violent person from entering the home of the applicant.

Neither the couple nor the son were legally represented and there was no one else with the judge in court during the case, apart from the court registrar.

The couple had previously been granted a temporary protection order against their son, who was then required to attend court on Friday for a full hearing of the case.

When Judge Walsh granted the safety order, for five years, the respondent allegedly became very angry and assaulted her.

He allegedly punched her in the head, knocking her to the ground, where he kicked her repeatedly.

The court registrar ran from the first-floor court to fetch gardaí, who were at reception on the ground floor of the building.

Gardaí arrested the man at the scene and took him to Pearse Street Garda station. He can be detained for 24 hours, under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.

Judge Walsh was taken by ambulance to St James’s Hospital, accompanied by gardaí and court staff. She has since been discharged.

An emergency meeting was held at the court on Friday afternoon, with District Court President, Judge Rosemary Horgan, who also sits in Dolphin House.

The building, a converted hotel, has five courtrooms and there are generally two gardaí on duty. Officers do not routinely attend hearings, but if there are specific concerns raised in advance of or during a case, that there may be a potential for violence, a garda will sit in court.

There are security cameras in the building, which monitor the waiting area, and corridors outside the courtrooms, but there are none inside the courtrooms.

Courts Service staff, lawyers and other professionals, who work regularly at Dolphin House, were shocked by the assault on Friday.

One practitioner said it was very shocking that the judge had been attacked in the course of carrying out her work. Another said he had never heard of anything like it in the 14 years he had been practising at Dolphin House.

“I’ve seen assaults outside courtrooms here before, between parties, but I’ve never heard of anything like this,” he said.

They both wished the judge a speedy recovery.

A spokesman for the Courts Service said senior managers from the service went immediately to Dolphin House following the assault, and with the President, offered support and reassurance to staff and the judiciary.

He said security systems are in place in the courts at the venue, and were operational.

“This allowed the gardaí intervene and make an arrest,” he said.

The Bar Council has also condemned the attack. Its chairman David Barniville SC described it as “deplorable and to be utterly condemned”. He said it was a new low and it highlighted the great importance of appropriate facilities and security in our courts. He called for a thorough investigation into the circumstances.

“It is important the appropriate measures and facilities are afforded to the justice system, for the protection of both the judiciary and legal professionals, as well as members of the public attending the court,” he said.

Ken Murphy, director general of the Law Society, said the attack on a judge, sitting on the bench administering justice, was “an audacious assault on the face of justice itself.

“Absolutely everyone in a courtroom must be protected from such violent outbursts. If not, then the rule of law will be replaced by the rule of the jungle,” he said.