A drink driving charge against a doctor in Dundalk was dismissed yesterday after Judge Joseph Mangan accepted that some of the evidence of the prosecuting garda was read from a sheet of paper detailing the proofs required by statute.
Defence counsel Mr Shane Patrick Murray said Garda Barry McGovern, Dundalk, was entitled to read from his notes taken at the time of the alleged offence but not from what he described as a work sheet.
Dr Eric Tobin, of Seatown Place, Dundalk, Co Louth, was before the court on a charge relating to drink driving in Dundalk on September 19th, 1996.
Garda McGovern said he was in a patrol car at 2.30 a.m. when he saw a car cross the road's white line a number of times and fail to stop at a red light. The driver was stopped and gave his name and address. The garda got a smell of alcohol off the driver's breath and said he was unsteady on his feet. The driver was arrested on suspicion of driving with excessive alcohol and taken to Dundalk Garda station. A blood sample was taken. This had a blood-alcohol reading of 173.
The garda was interrupted in evidence by Mr Murray who asked what he was reading. The garda said it was a work sheet he used for drink driving offences.
Mr Murray looked at it and said it was more like an advice on proofs and the evidence had been given on the basis of this. He said the garda's evidence had been tainted by this and the case should be dismissed.
Judge Mangan said even if the garda had been reading from his notes, he should have brought this to the court's attention, adding that gardai were doing this the whole time. He dismissed the charge and fined Tobin £100 for breaking the red light.