Sir, – So John Dundon listened to his favourite music on earphones while his murder trial took place (Home News, August 14th).
Amazing? Not really. What was amazing was that three senior judges let him indulge himself and get away with such behaviour.
Many years ago, in the District Court, I saw an elderly man walk in wearing a tweed cap. “Remove that cap or I’ll have you removed from this court,” the judge bellowed at the unfortunate individual who had never been in a court before. He quickly removed the offending cap as a burly garda approached him.
A few years later I saw something similar happen in the same court with the same judge in charge. This time an absent-minded man wandered in smoking a pipe. I spotted him early and I knew what was going to happen. The judge turned beetroot and his eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets at such an atrocity. “Get him out, get him out,” he ordered the court garda. The terrified citizen stuck the lighting pipe into his pocket and bolted out of the building.
I have also seen a reporter thrown out of court. His sin was that he was using a tape recorder (he had no shorthand), and in the old days tape recorders were not allowed.
In all of the above three cases the judge said the offenders were in contempt of court and were treating his court with disrespect. – Yours, etc,
FRANK KILFEATHER,
Delgany,
Co Wicklow.