'Unseemly glee' of judges in dismissing charges criticised

A GOVERNMENT Minister has sharply criticised judges who dismiss cases with “unseemly glee” because of technical faults and hugely increase costs as a result.

Minister of State for Finance Dr Martin Manserghsaid "if we can override technical defects in applications of the European Arrest Warrant why can we not apply the same spirit here in other domestic legislation?".

In a rebuke to some members of the judiciary, he asked “how often have we seen certain District Court judges reject with unseemly glee charges, say particularly in relation to motoring offences but [also] other things because of some minor technical defect.

“And indeed we even had an extremely longwinded impeachment procedure in these two Houses because a warrant was very marginally out of date.

“I have to say the older I get the more impatient I become with capricious judges and lawyers who string out and frustrate the course of justice, and enormously increases cost by such devices or technical objections.”

Dr Mansergh was speaking in the Dáil during a debate on the introduction of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, which reforms gun laws, bans new handgun licences, and gives Garda superintendents power to inquire into the mental and physical health of anyone applying for a firearms licence.

The Bill also amends the 2003 European Arrest Warrant Act to deal with difficulties in its administration.

Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern, who introduced the Bill, said a substantial part of the legislation dealt with firearms and he was "determined to ensure that a gun culture is not allowed to form in this State".

Fine Gael justice spokesman Charlie Flanagansaid there were modest amendments to bail legislation in the Bill, but insufficient to resolve "many of the problems relating to the bail regime, which in spite of the legislation that followed the bail referendum about 13 years ago, is still one of the most lax in the western world".

They had still not ensured a “minimum time lapse” between arrest and court case and as a result “thousands of crimes, some of them very serious, are being committed by persons granted bail by the courts”.

Labour justice spokesman Pat Rabbittesaid "the subliminal message from the Minister was that his new legislative proposals will tackle the availability of weapons to criminal gangs. The more one examines the Bill, the more one finds the Minister's proposals will have virtually no impact on the use of or access to firearms by criminal gangs. Rather, it will have significant impact on law-abiding citizens who are members of gun clubs and hold licensed weapons in supervised conditions. The evidence is that criminals do not get their hands on guns used by such clubs."