A newspaper columnist is to be asked to explain her reasons for what were called "serious factual inaccuracies in an article designed to inflame".
Judge Kieran O'Connor directed that the Chief State Solicitor's office should write to Ms Liz Ryan, of the Evening Herald, asking her to appear before him in October as a result of her column headed "Rough justice" in the newspaper on July 27th.
"This action might help to restrain some of these headline-seeking journalists, though to refer to her as one is offensive to real journalists," he said at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
The column dealt with Judge O'Connor's discharge of the jury in a recent sex assault case and his direction that it was not to be relisted for trial unless there was a psychiatric report that the alleged victim was fit to give evidence. The jury was discharged after an outburst by the 20-year-old woman.
Mr Martin Dully, defending, told Judge O'Connor his client was deeply concerned about Ms Ryan's article which he said was factually incorrect and written by someone who was not in court for the hearing.
The article suggested his client faced a rape trial and suggested the alleged victim's reaction in court which led to the jury being discharged was "entirely consistent with her having being raped". His client's profession had been reported in the recent trial.
Mr Dully said: "The Evening Herald article followed on substantial and totally accurate media reporting of the trial by real journalists. Any member of the public reading it would link the two, and Ms Ryan should be called on to retract the inaccuracies and apologise."
Judge O'Connor said the Evening Herald column was "obviously designed to inflame the minds of people reading it". He might decide to cite Ms Ryan and the Evening Herald for contempt of court depending on what might transpire.
Mr Fergal Kavanagh, prosecuting, said the State was concerned that any further publicity arising out of the matter might tend to prejudice a trial. The DPP had instructed that, in the event of the alleged victim being declared fit to give evidence, there was to be a retrial.