Sir, – Your recent editorial ("In defence of the imperfect", February 11th), which attempts to justify the continued use of the non-jury Special Criminal Courts, states that non-jury courts are required "because of the failure to reassure law-abiding citizens that they have nothing to fear from paramilitary organisations or criminal gangs".
This seems to suggest that ordinary jury courts cannot offer the same public reassurance. Surely not.
Trial by jury is the cornerstone of any civilised criminal justice system, and its value needs to be upheld whatever the “particular circumstances”, especially at a time when public confidence in the institutions of the state is so low.
Political interference in the judicial system is always a sign of weakness, does nothing to maintain public confidence and tears away at the already frail fabric of democracy. – Yours, etc,
Fr DES WILSON,
Fr RAYMOND MURRAY,
Fr GERRY MCFLYNN,
Fr JOE MCVEIGH,
Belfast.