Judge and solicitor have heated exchange in Portlaoise court
Image for illustration purposes
A LENGTHY, robust and at times heated exchange of views took place between the presiding judge and a solicitor at Portlaoise District Court last week.
The exchange took place when a solicitor for a prisoner in Portlaoise Prison accused of threatening to kill or to cause serious injury to a prison officer on 1 July 202, asked the judge to direct the free legal aid board to provide travel expenses for his expert witness.
At a previous sitting of the case, John Cullen, solicitor for the accused, Gerard Manning (45) of 17 Upper Gerald Griffin Street, Limerick was granted approval by Judge Susan Fay to engage the services of an expert forensic engineer under the free legal aid scheme in his client’s defence.
When the case resumed last week Mr Cullen said that he had been approved the service of an expert forensic engineer, was unable to acquire one in Ireland but had sourced one from Britan and had agreed the going rate of €100 per hour for 10-hours of his service.
However, Mr Cullen said that he had, to date, been unable to secure approval from the free legal aid board to grant travel expense for his forensic engineer and asked Judge Fay “to direct” the board to approval travel expenses for his expert.
However, Judge Fay said it was a matter for the defence to contact the board to seek such expenses, to which Mr Cullen said: “The Free Legal Aid Board is effectively blanking me. If I can’t get the travel expenses for my expert, then I can’t get a fair trial.” Judge Fay said that it was up to the legal aid unit of the Department of Justice to deal with Mr Cullen’s application for the travel expenses.
On numerous occasion the judge asked the solicitor to show her in his pile of documents where, specifically the board had responded to his request for travel expenses, only for the solicitor to produce his pile telling her to look through it herself to find the email that was sent to him.
At one stage in the hearing Judge Fay slammed the pile of documents down on her desk and said she was taking a recess.
On her return she said the case was before the court for Mr Manning to plead either guilty or not guilty to the charge, which Mr Cullen said his client was pleading not guilty.
“I have asked you several time to show me the specific email where you received a reply to your request for travel expenses,” said Judge Fay to which Mr Cullen said: “It’s in there (pile of documents).” He said the expert forensic engineer, “said he can’t come if he doesn’t get travelling expenses.” Judge Fay again impressed on the solicitor that it was up to him to engage with the Department of Justice about his application for travelling expenses, to which he replied: “The Free Legal Aid Bord needs to clen up its act or it will end up just being a talking shop. This is an extremely serious charge of threats to kill, and it is absolutely necessary that I bring in objective evidence.” Judge Fay went on to remand Mr Manning on continuing bail to 17 November for the case to be mentioned and set 27 July for a full hearing into the case.
“That”, said Judge Fay, “should give you ample time to engage with the Department of Justice.”
