A roundup of today's other courts news in brief
Mandatory life sentence for murder disputed
Closing submissions were heard yesterday in the Supreme Court case in which convicted murderers Paul Lynch and Peter Whelan are challenging the constitutionality of mandatory life terms for murder.
For Lynch, Roger Sweetman argued that the mandatory life sentence for murder was incomplete as it did not actually provide in the vast majority of cases for a life sentence. Most life sentence prisoners did not serve life, but there was no judicial role relating to the time actually served, he said.
David Goldberg for Whelan argued that once it was acknowledged not all murders were the same, the justification for mandatory life sentences disappeared. It was for the courts, not the legislature, to measure sentences, he said.
However, Brian Murray for the State said they could not argue their life sentences were disproportionate as their crimes were not at the lower end of the murder spectrum.
He said Whelan and Lynch were contending a mandatory sentence for all murders breached the constitutional principle of proportionality
It was the State’s case that there was no legal authority to support this claim for proportionality in relation to persons convicted of murder.
Court told Prince a ‘very special’ one
Prince was “one of the least clear people” to deal with, a senior executive with one of the world’s largest entertainment management companies told the Commercial Court yesterday.
Marc Geiger, of William Morris Entertainment Endeavour LLLC, which claims it acted as agents for the artist in relation to a summer 2008 gig at Dublin’s Croke Park, said Prince was a “very special” individual who “changes often”.
He was giving evidence on the third day of the action before Mr Justice Peter Kelly by promoters MCD for €1.7 million compensation against the Oscar-winning singer and WMEE, Beverly Hills, California, over cancellation of the Croke Park gig planned for June 16th, 2008.
Yesterday Mr Geiger said he and a colleague met Prince in California on June 3rd, 2008. Prince told him: “You know I don’t work like this,” and said he would not be performing a “one-off” gig which was not part of any European tour.
Later Prince became “very agitated” and said it was the agency’s “problem” as it had got him “into this mess”, Mr Geiger said. The meeting ended in a “terse fashion”.
The case continues today.
Man pleads guilty to explosives charges
A Dublin man has pleaded guilty at the Special Criminal Court to possession of explosives in his north Dublin home last September.
Joseph Conlon (22), St Anne’s Drive, Raheny, pleaded guilty to the unlawful possession of a box containing 55 firework fuses, a box containing 130gm of firework pyrotechnic powder, a mortar and pestle, three Roman candle fireworks, a plastic toolbox containing bulbs, wires, a pipe cutter, pliers, file and a roll of solder and a plastic bag containing match heads and empty firework wrapping.
The court remanded him in custody for sentencing on March 24th.
Driver not liable for injuring ex-garda
A young driver has no liability for a collision caused by a “severely intoxicated” former garda running across the road in front of his vehicle in the early hours of the morning on a national primary road, a High Court judge has ruled.
Mr Justice Paul Gilligan found former garda Enda Joseph Murphy, Moneylagan, Newtownforbes, Co Longford, had created the situation that resulted in his suffering a serious and permanently incapacitating injury to his right leg after being hit by a van driven by Michael Rogan at about 4.45am on August 23rd, 2005, on the N4 on the Sligo side of Longford town.
He dismissed the action by Mr Murphy against Mr Rogan, of Tooman, Dromad, Co Leitrim.