THE jury in the Reynolds libel case is expected to retire to consider its verdict today.
Mr Justice French told the jury yesterday afternoon that he expected to conclude his summing up by mid morning and would then ask it to retire.
"May I say this to you. I hope you will be retiring to consider your verdict mid morning or thereabouts," he said.
The former Taoiseach, Mr Albert Reynolds, is suing the Sunday Times newspaper over an article, published on November 20th, 1994 in English, Scottish and Welsh editions, which claimed he had lied to the Dail and misled his cabinet colleagues over the extradition of the paedophile priest Brendan Smyth.
The Sunday Times denies libel, claiming justification and qualified privilege,
After adjourning the hearing until today, Mr Justice French heard legal submissions by Lord Williams QC, counsel for Mr Reynolds, and Mr James Price QC, for the Sunday Times.
Resuming his summing up of Mr Reynolds's evidence yesterday morning, Mr Justice French described how he had come to learn of the article in the British edition of the Sunday Times through his daughter, Miriam.
He went over Mr Reynolds's version of the events of the days leading up to the fall of his government. Referring to his speech in the Dail on the Tuesday, he said: "So, members of the jury, you see the plaintiff supporting Mr Whelehan to the hilt on that Tuesday.
He said it had been put to Mr Reynolds that he could have told the Fail that a matter had come to his attention, but that the full facts had not been established, so he could not give the Dail a full explanation at that time. Mr Reynolds had countered this with: "This would have fuelled the fires of innuendo," he said.
"It is up to you to consider if that is satisfactory."
It was also for the jury to decide on the significance of the fact that Mr Reynolds did not chase up on the report on the Duggan case he was expecting from Mr Fitzsimons.
"Why didn't he say `Please can I have this report?' and he would then have been told by Mr Fitzsimons that he had put it in his office. It is for you to decide the significance, if any, of the fact that Mr Reynolds did not chase up this repo that he was expecting", he said.
At 11 a.m. Mr Justice French told the Court that he was observing the two minute silence to commemorate Armistice Day.
Referring to the evidence that Mr Reynolds had asked Dr Michael Woods on the Tuesday night to convey to Mr Harry Whelehan an offer of the next High Court appointment that became vacant, the judge reminded the jury that this meant he had been prepared to offer Mr Whelehan a senior judicial appointment he had received the Fitzsimons letter.
Turning to the beef tribunal and the Masri passports affair, Mr Justice French said they were only of relevance to a general consideration of Mr Reynolds's commitment to the truth.
Mr Justice French reminded the jury that much of the Sunday Times case consisted of witnesses testifying before the Dail Select Committee's inquiry into the downfall of the Reynolds's government.
Before reading Mr Fitzsimons statement out loud, he told the jury: is up for you members of the jury to make up your minds to what extent you can rely upon it, bearing in mind that you have not heard Mr Fitzsimons apart from, the video evidence.
Mr Justice French then read Mr Harry Whelehan's statement to the jury, which he said the defence relied upon to support Fitzsimons evidence that at Mr Reynolds's request on November 14th, 1994 he went and asked Mr Whelehan to postpone his swearing in as president of the High Court.
The judge then read the speeches of the former justice minister, Mrs Maire Geoghegan Quinn, in which she apologised for misleading the Fail over the Smyth case, and of another former minister, Dr Michael Woods.
The hearing was adjourned until today.