Judge Patrick McCartan has ruled that an application for contempt brought by a Tipperary solicitor against five newspapers arising out of a sexual assault case is a matter of criminal contempt.
The solicitor served an affidavit on the newspapers which named his client whose sexual assault trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court ended with the discharge of the jury by Judge Dominic Lynch earlier this month. The jury was discharged after Mr Peter Charleton SC, defending, complained that the papers had been in breach of an order made by Judge McCartan, when he empanelled the jury for the trial, that the accused man should not be named outside the court.
Judge McCartan said the contempt was in the nature of a criminal contempt due to the publication of the accused's name and photographs of him.
Three of the newspapers had also linked the accused to his brother who, he said, was "a person of some notoriety".
Counsel for some of the newspapers had questioned the grounds on which it was proposed to deal with the alleged contempt. Judge McCartan ordered the case to be listed for mention next Monday.
Mr Charleton said the order made by Judge McCartan, when swearing in the jury, that "no person including any member of the jury panel" could bring out information to identify the accused had been breached.
Mr Eoin McCullough, for the Irish Independent, said if the newspapers had potentially identified the alleged victims, it was up to the Director of Public Prosecutions to bring such a notice to them.
Ms Una Ni Raifeartaigh, for The Irish Times, submitted the contempt complained of in the case was a civil matter because the applicant had failed to prove knowledge of the original order prohibiting the publication of the accused's name.
Mr Luan O Braonain, for the Irish Mirror, said it was reasonable to anticipate that the order, "if it was an order", would be made by Judge Lynch, as the trial judge, but this had not been done. Mr O Braonain said procedures should be established to make such orders clear when a trial was moved to another court from that in which the jury had been empanelled.
Earlier, Mr Charleton detailed how each of the five newspapers dealt with the trial report. The newspapers involved are the Irish Mirror, the Star, Irish Independent,, The Irish Times and Irish Examiner.
Mr Charleton read out affidavits from Irish Independent chief news editor Mr Paul Dunne, reporter Mr Tom Tuite, and reporting agency director Mr Tomas Mac Ruairi.
Judge McCartan said the affidavits had not indicated that anyone involved had made an effort to check whether an order had been made.