Madam, – So Stephen O’Byrnes and Kevin O’Connor (Opinion, July 9th) want to ride into town on a horse called “Strictly Law & Order”?
I assume they will therefore happily confirm that if they, their families or their friends are accused of a crime, denied the right to a jury trial, plead Not Guilty, are convicted on the uncorrobborated evidence of a Garda and receive a lengthy prison sentence, they will be happy that such a trial procedure was fair and not quibble at the mere deprivation of the long established constitutional right to trial by jury.
And would State Solicitor, Michael Murray or those to whom he presumably confided, answer the question posed by the Law Society’s director general?
Did Mr Murray’s unspecified and vague allegation about an unnamed solicitor passing information to an unidentified criminal contribute to a section of the 2009 Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to deny legal representation to accused persons in Court while permitting prosecution representatives to attend?
If so, let’s hear that evidence if this is the basis or even partly so, of the unique proposal to exclude defence lawyers from court in certain prescribed circumstances.
Unless the requirement for evidence is to be abolished too?
Well, Mr Murray? Is it? – Yours, etc,