A former deputy State pathologist was the subject of a complaint to the Medical Council due to concerns his work could result in people being wrongfully acquitted or convicted of serious crimes, an inquiry has heard.
Dr Khalid Jaber served as a deputy State pathologist between 2009 and 2013 but resigned amid reports of differences with then State pathologist Prof Marie Cassidy.
He is facing three allegations of professional misconduct and poor professional performance concerning the postmortem reports and evidence he gave to two cases before the Central Criminal Court more than a decade ago. One of the cases collapsed and a murder conviction was quashed in the other.
Another former deputy State pathologist, Dr Michael Curtis, filed a complaint to the Medical Council about Dr Jaber in August 2015.
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In the second day of a fitness to practise inquiry on Thursday, Dr Curtis said he felt Dr Jaber’s work was an “issue of public safety” due to “the courts having decided they couldn’t rely upon his evidence”.
“If he was going to appear in court again, either in Ireland or another jurisdiction, the risk of a poor opinion being expressed or a dangerous opinion being expressed was looming large,” he said.
Dr Curtis confirmed he was “worried” that people would be wrongly acquitted or convicted of serious crimes and said this was of particular concern to him due to fact Dr Jaber was working in the Middle East.
“I would be concerned even about his evidence being given to an Irish court, but when the stakes are so high in a jurisdiction where capital punishment is practised, the concern becomes even more acute,” he added.
Dr Jaber is accused of having no pathological evidence to support or substantiate findings that Francis Greene died from asphyxia in 2009.
Kevin Coughlan, of Avondale Drive, Greystones, Limerick, had his conviction for murdering Mr Greene quashed by the Court of Appeal in June 2015. He was later convicted of Mr Greene’s manslaughter at a retrial and sentenced to eight years.
Dr Jaber is accused of giving evidence in the trial of Michael Furlong for the murder of Patrick Connors in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford in April 2011 that blunt force trauma contributed to his death when there was no pathological evidence to justify this opinion. In the same case, he is accused of refusing to accept the possibility hypothermia could have been a factor in his death.
The trial of Mr Furlong collapsed in 2013 after Prof Cassidy, the then State pathologist, wrote to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) highlighting concerns about Dr Jaber’s evidence and saying his postmortem report in the case had not been peer reviewed. The High Court subsequently prohibited the holding of a retrial.
During the inquiry, the committee heard he had a “terse” relationship with Prof Cassidy in the months and years before his resignation.
Prof Cassidy said she raised the issue around peer review with Dr Jaber in advance of intervening in the trial of Mr Furlong, but he told her she was “not qualified” to peer review his work. After she sent her letter to the DPP, Prof Cassidy said Dr Jaber would not “engage with me thereafter”.
Dr Jaber is not attending the inquiry, but counsel for the Medical Council, Ronan Kennedy SC, said Dr Jaber had, in response to the complaint against him, maintained he had done no wrong. He instead criticised his former colleagues and questioned their qualifications.
The inquiry was adjourned on Thursday evening and is expected to conclude on Friday.
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