Portlaoise case an 'utter waste of garda time’
A DISTRICT Court judge described a case at the Family Law Court sitting in Portlaoise last week as a “grotesque abuse of the court process and a complete and utter waste of court and garda time”.
The comment was made by Judge Andrew Cody, who was presiding over a case in which a 49-year-old man was charged with breaching a court-imposed safety order on 3 February this year, in the waiting area of Portlaoise Courthouse.
The court heard that at 4.15pm on the day, a woman presented at Portlaoise Garda Station and lodged a complaint that she had been put in fear by the man, while she was sitting in the waiting area of the courthouse earlier that day.
The prosecuting garda said the woman alleged that the man passed by her and, while doing so, said: “Howya.”
Two nights later, gardaí attended the defendant’s house where he was arrested. The prosecuting garda said that, in reply to the charge, the man said: “I am the victim of coercive control and stalking and it’s being assisted by gardaí in Portlaoise.”
He was then taken to a garda station where he was detained overnight. The following morning, he was brought before Athlone District Court.
CCTV footage from the day was harvested from the courthouse and the alleged incident was played back to the court.
It showed a man passing by several people, nodding his head in their direction and proceeding to the bathroom. He is then seen coming back, passing by and on to where he came from, without any further interaction.
When the footage concluded, Judge Cody said: “This is a domestic violence application. It that it?”
The arresting garda replied: “The injured party said that she was put in fear.”
After viewing the CCTV footage, the man’s solicitor Josephine Fitzpatrick said: “The gardaí knocked on his door at 11.40pm two nights later. Arrested him. Held him in custody overnight and brought him to Athlone District Court. At 12.25pm the following day he was released.”
The prosecuting garda was asked by Ms Fitzpatrick whether he had seen the CCTV footage before arresting her client. He replied: “No.”
The solicitor asked: “Why did you go to his door at 11.40pm two nights later?”
Replying to that question, Garda Sergeant Mark Daly interjected and said that gardaí exercise a “pro-arrest policy regarding domestic violence”.
Ms Fitzpatrick described the CCTV footage as showing “a fleeting glance” at the alleged injured party as her client walked by on his way to the toilet.
Taking the stand, the injured party said she was in court that day seeking a safety order, which was refused.
She said she was sitting with two of her friends when the defendant passed by and said: “How are ye.”
The woman said: “I was put in fear and am constantly in fear of him.”
Ms Fitzpatrick noted from the CCTV footage that her client had passed by the injured party, who had remained where she was. The solicitor asked her why she had not moved away, if she had been in that much fear.
The woman said: “I kept my head down on my phone. I was in fear. I was frightened. Just by him passing put me in fear.”
Judge Cody said: “This is a grotesque abuse of the court process. It’s a complete and utter waste of court and garda time. What’s happened in this case is that gardaí and the court are being abused in coercive control and being used on a frivolous complaint.”
He went on to dismiss the charge against the man.
*Family law cases are held in private due to their sensitive nature. Reporting restrictions are put in place whereby no identifying details can be published.
