AS an antidote for the everyday blues (apart from the music of BB King, that is ) a visit to your District Court to see justice being administered in your name might just do the trick. I emphasise ‘your’ as some need reminding it actually is your Court and justice is carried out, and sometimes otherwise, in your name. It’s not the Judge’s Court, although some labour under the delusion it is; they simply have the privilege of acting on our behalf. Ditto for lawyers, Gardaí and even representatives of the fourth estate.
Whether you want to distract yourself by engaging in a bit of what the Germans call schadenfreude – enjoying the discomfort of others – inform yourself of what goes on in your name or entertain yourself by witnessing some of the absurdities of life, then a couple of hours spent in your District Court is the place for you.
District Courts are the clearing houses, of the judicial system. Steal an axe and it will deal with you. Use the axe to give someone 40 whacks and, depending on the damage done, you might be dealt with. Use the axe to dispatch and the process starts here before you’re moved up the Court chain. All human life, it’s fair to say, is reflected in our District Courts.
Yes, they’re somewhat cumbersome, procedurally bureaucratic, paper-heavy, often confusing for the uninitiated and frequently downright sad, but a sitting is rarely dull.
I began Court reporting for The Galway Advertiser as part of an initiative supported by Coimisiún na Meán (Media Commission ) in an effort to ensure that this vital aspect of our democracy continues to get the notice it deserves in an increasingly fragmented and rapidly evolving media landscape. Here are some edited highlights from my first year on this particular beat.
“Shite Turf” Case Highlight of Year
My hands- (or sleáns- ) down favourite case of the year was published under the headline: Sod’s Law – “shite turf” defence turfed out by Judge
This civil dispute between two neighbours over the quality of turf sold took me back to my youth when such agrarian outrages made regular appearances in the newspapers and the ink would be read off the page.
“I know now where Phoenix magazine got their ‘Bog Cuttings’ title from” a Judge quipped when a solicitor produced two sods of turf as evidence in a case involving a dispute over the quality of turf sold, and a refusal to pay for it.
The defendant in the case referred several times to “shite turf” claiming some of it was little more than muck. The claimant argued that the defendant had turned the turf and brought it home without any mention of poor quality, although they encountered each other often, and argued that he either wanted the €290 owed to him for a trailer-and-a-half of his turf or the return of that amount of turf to him, which he’d be happy to burn himself.
Even the Judge advising the disgruntled “shite turf” defendant to go outside the courtroom and settle the matter couldn’t budge him, and he was fined €700.
Dope Farming Pensioner – Allegedly
Another one that caught my eye was of an alleged dope farming pensioner.
“When Gardaí raided the property of a Dunmore pensioner they allegedly discovered 66 cannabis plants valued at €52,800 and cannabis to the value of €12,000.”
Her barrister applied for free legal aid on behalf of her client, stating that she was a pensioner and of limited means.
WOW! – 355 previous convictions
“When a Judge at Galway District Court was informed that a defendant before her had 355 previous convictions, her reaction was “WOW!”
Gardaí, solicitors and experienced reporters present, all agreed that this may be a record in their collective experiences.
The defendant, on her shoplifting tour of Galway, stole from TK Maxx (€384 ) Sports Direct (€280 ) Carraig Donn (€380 ) Elvery’s (€250 ) and Brown Thomas (€300 ), Judge Valerie Corcoran was informed.
Her MO was to wheel an empty buggy into a shop and place the items in it before wheeling it out.
Summing up, the Judge said the defendant was “playing the system.” She was even committing offences while on temporary release from prison. She is obviously a very prolific thief, she said, but my hands are tied. She imposed concurrent sentences.
Saga of stolen bread van
This sad, long-running saga involved a middle-aged woman who had never been in trouble in her life before she took to the drink following the death of her mother, played out in several Courts around the county. It’s another example of the comic/tragic aspect to cases heard in many local courtrooms. The Judge was hoping she might get the help she needed while in custody. The report began:
“A woman in her late 50s who allegedly made off in a bread van and tore the side off it when she collided with a guardrail of the Ballinasloe AIB, appealed to a Judge at the local Court to give her a chance.
However, Gardaí objected to her getting bail on the ground that she couldn’t provide an address and, although she had no previous convictions, appeared before Judge James Faughnan on nine separate charges which were committed while on bail.
She said she took the van because she wanted to keep warm and insisted she hadn’t eaten any of the bread.
Dentist’s rust bucket – allegedly
“Look at that machine. It’s a rust bucket. The tyres are probably the only thing worth anything,” the same Judge Faughnan said, and advised a dentist suing a mechanic over its loss to come to some arrangement outside the Court rather than waste a third day fighting the case.
Judge’s Wisdom of Solomon Plea over Dentist’s “Rust Bucket” Topper
Was the headline. The report began:
“A Galway dentist taking a case in the Small Claims Court over the disputed loss of a piece of agricultural equipment was advised by a Judge to “have a chat outside” with the man he was suing to see if they couldn’t come to some agreement rather than have the dispute go to a third day in Court.”
The case was adjourned for mediation between the parties and, sadly, this reporter was not present to record the conclusion when it returned for hearing.
No samurai swords in this city
Back in 1518 the Anglo-Norman tribes of Galway enacted a by-law which stated: “Neither O nor Mac should strutte ne swagger thorow the streetes of Gallway” and natives were also prohibited from carrying swords or bladed weapons.
A Judge at Galway District Court brought the by-law up to date when she banned a man who carried a Samurai sword for religious reasons from the city for two years. The case began:
“Carrying a Samurai sword around the streets of Galway is simply not on, a Judge told a man at Galway District Court when she banned him from the city centre for two years and ordered the destruction of his sword.
Judge Valerie Corcoran was told the defendant was a religious man and was involved with a group in Galway which distributed material relating to their beliefs on Shop Street. His solicitor Olivia Traynor pleaded that the sword was associated with his beliefs and he had not threatened or put anyone in danger by carrying it on his person.
However, when the Judge was shown the sword in a scabbard with a rope for carrying it across the body she expressed shock, stating that anyone seeing him carrying it would be alarmed and she was “horrified” when a Garda displayed the blade to her.
The Court was told that Moran “lived on the periphery of life”. He is 64 and had lived for 25 or 30 years in India.
Ms Traynor (now Judge Traynor ) said she had told her client that it may be ok to walk about with a sword in India or elsewhere, but certainly not here in Ireland.
“Religion and religious beliefs are one thing but you can’t carry a weapon like this in a public place,” the Judge concluded and ordered the destruction of the sword.
Your District Court -All Human Life.
