Madam, - While I have no brief for or from Judge Curtin, it is crystal clear that as a lawyer one is duty bound to uphold the law of this jurisdiction, especially when it appears that those who are at present charged with upholding its dignity appear to be abdicating their sacred responsibility and endeavouring to replace it with threats, coercion, intimidation and undue influence.
The fundamental law of this State, whether we like or or not, is that all citizens are innocent until proven guilty. That is the law of the land and means what it says, and says what it means, and it is not, thankfully, an idle cliché.
The verdict of the jury was unambiguous: that Judge Curtin was not guilty of all charges before the Court. The verdict was not that he was not guilty but we have our suspicions. Neither the jury nor the judge stated such nor did they say that the Government could second-guess the decision, nor that they would have a second bite of the cherry, nor that Judge Curtin could be tried by some other means.
This means that nobody has the right to dismiss or deprive somebody of their livelihood or avoid their own contractual rights on the grounds of mere supposition. To do so would be a grave injustice and that should be clear to even the most sceptical.
The unvarnished truth - and the members of the Government have to face up to it - is that they have by their own default no proper mechanism, practice or procedure whereby they can dismiss a judge in these circumstances, especially when he has been cleared by a court of competent jurisdiction appointment by the Government itself. Despite their neglect and their abject failure to address the situation over the years since the Sheedy affair, they are now again wallowing in the misconception that they can circumvent their own incompetence with a slapstick and "slightly constitutional" remedy.
The exigencies of the situation do not afford the Government an unfettered licence to trample on the provisions of our Constitution, which specifically uphold the right of every citizen to fair play, natural justice and equality of treatment. When did Judge Curtin cease to be a citizen? - Yours, etc.,
BRENDAN T. MULDOWNEY,
Solicitor,
Longford.
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Madam, - The "fruit of the poisoned tree" argument (so eloquently decried by Emmet Coldrick, April 29th), which debars evidence illegally obtained, may appal common sensibilities and seem overly nit-picking. But surely there is a further issue relating to the warrant in this case.
The warrant was issued on Monday, May 20th, but not executed until Monday, May 27th. In all the comment no-one seems to think it worth asking why it takes a week to execute a warrant in a case where a very serious crime is alleged. Even in heavy traffic it takes closer to seven hours than seven days to drive from Dublin to Kerry. - Yours, etc.,
BRIAN M. LUCEY,
Trinity College,
Dublin 2.