A solicitor who claimed the President of the District Court could be biased in hearing a case involving a lap-dancing club withdrew his comment yesterday.
Mr Bill Holohan, solicitor for the Barclay Club, last week expressed concern about which judge would hear Garda objections to his client's dance licence following comments made by the Judge Peter Smithwick in a previous case. Judge Smithwick said he disapproved of lap-dancing, did not believe it was public dancing and should be stopped.
Mr Holohan said he was concerned that if this judge were to hear the Barclay case, there could be a suggestion that he could be biased because of those comments.
Yesterday, Mr Holohan said he had "no objection to any judge" hearing the case. He claimed his comments had been "translated into certain news reports" as him having an objection to Judge Smithwick hearing the case.
His claims came as Judge Brian Smyth set March 5th and 6th next for the hearing of the Barclay case in which gardaí allege they saw a naked woman being touched on her private parts by a man on a couch in an upstairs room of the club.
Lawyers for the club said it might not be appropriate for the case to go ahead on that date as the gardaí had indicated that a separate criminal prosecution in relation to this "couch incident" may be taken.
Mr Michael O'Higgins, for the State, said it was not the Garda's intention to bring a separate case and there was no reason for the licence objection hearing not to proceed on the next date.
He repeated a request that the contract of employment relating to one of the exotic dancers observed in the couch incident be supplied to gardaí in advance of the case. Customers are not permitted to touch dancers under the rules of lap-dancing clubs. Mr Holohan said he had no difficulty in supplying a copy of the contract.
Judge Smyth rejected an application for the gardaí to make their notebooks recording any details of the couch incident visit available to the club's lawyers in advance of the hearing.