The jury in the trial of a Wicklow man accused of murdering a young father in Dublin more than two years ago has been told there is an “acute judge problem” and the case may not go ahead this week.
The six men and six women were sworn in for the murder trial of 34-year-old Garrett O’Brien a week ago, but the case did not go ahead as expected last Wednesday after an “issue arose”.
Mr O’Brien, of Clover Hill in Bray, is pleading not guilty to murdering Stephen O’Byrne in Tallaght in March 2009.
The 27-year-old was shot dead at Tymon Park North, where he lived with his girlfriend, Sharon Rattigan. Ms Rattigan was also shot at during the attack.
Mr O’Brien has also pleaded not guilty to a second charge of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.
The jury in the case returned to the Central Criminal Court again yesterday morning, where Mr Justice Paul Carney informed them that there was a problem with availability of judges and he didn’t know “if the case will get on at all this week”.
He instructed them, however, to come back again tomorrow.
“We will see what the situation is then,” he said.
The case is expected to take four weeks.