Fourteen people charged in connection with a disturbance during an anti-globalisation protest in Dublin last October cannot have their cases heard by 14 different judges, a court ruled yesterday.
Judge Gerard Haughton rejected an application from a lawyer for one of the 14 to have the cases heard separately and by different judges because the public perception might be that their trials were of a "lesser standard".
While the defendants would be entitled to have their cases dealt with individually, there was no entitlement for them to be heard before 14 different judges.
To suggest otherwise would mean that judges who might have heard of or read a report of one of the trials could not hear a case involving another of the accused. "Judges must set aside what they may have heard and deal solely with the evidence, and I am quite satisfied judges have the capacity to do that," he said.
"I am also satisfied that the general public have sufficient confidence in the judiciary to do so. Otherwise we would have a ludicrous situation where we would have to find 14 judges and find those who had not read reports of the case."
The 11 men and three women were all charged with behaviour likely to cause a breach of the peace outside the Burlington Hotel, Dublin, on October 10th. New charges of failing to obey Garda directions to leave the scene were brought yesterday against the three women and five of the men.
The 14 are: Mr Thomas Kador, Ms Aoife Ni Fhearghail, Ms Grace Lally, Ms Maria Clifford, Mr Eoghan Rice, Mr Eoin Fullam, Mr Jamie Murphy, Mr David Lordon, Mr Conor McLaughlin, Mr Graham Scobie, Mr Eric Timmons, Mr Rory Hearne, Mr Brian Whelan and Mr Richard Boyd Barrett.
A solicitor for Mr Rice asked that his case be heard separately because he will be contesting the charge on the basis that he was a journalist covering the event, a protest at a conference about public-private partnership held in the Burlington.
Judge Haughton remanded Mr Rice, Mr Whelan and Mr Kador for the hearing of their cases on September 20th. Mr Hearne's case will be heard on March 13th, and the remainder will all be dealt with on July 10th.