Saturday, November 7, 2009 Previous editions
Thursday, July 09, 2009
JUSTICE Minister Dermot Ahern will proceed with controversial legislation to tackle gangland crime despite the objections of more 130 leading criminal lawyers.
"You will always get lawyers to challenge legislation. This is not a seismic change in the criminal law," Mr Ahern insisted.
The Government expects to push the Criminal Justice [Amendment] Bill through the Dáil before it rises for the summer recess tomorrow night.
Debate on the contentious bill has been shortened in order to meet the deadline.
But in a public appeal yesterday, the 133 defence and prosecution lawyers pleaded for the bill to be withdrawn so that proper debate could take place.
The Law Society echoed their concerns about the speed at which the bill is being pushed through.
"[The bill] has been introduced without any research to support its desirability and without canvassing expert opinion or inviting contribution from interested parties on the issues," the lawyers said.
The added that they were most concerned about the following proposals in the bill:
* The abolition of jury trial for a range of new offences (organised crime trials would be held in the non-jury Special Criminal Court).
* The use of opinion evidence from any garda as to the existence of a criminal organisation.
* The failure to require that the Garda opinion evidence be corroborated.
* The provision for secret hearings to extend detentions without the presence of the suspect or their lawyer.
"It is quite simply astounding that we as a society would jettison ancient rights and rules of evidence in such a manner and seemingly without regard to the effect such impetuous legislating might ultimately have on the respect for the rule of law in this country," the lawyers said.
But asked by RTÉ Radio if he would proceed with the legislation in the face of the lawyers’ objections, Mr Ahern replied: "Absolutely."
He said: "They’re entitled to their opinion. I don’t agree with them when they say that this was introduced without any research, or without canvassing expert opinion."
He said a range of people who witnessed the devastating effects of gangland crime supported the bill. These ranged from Defence Minister Willie O’Dea, who represents parts of Limerick worst affected by gangland crime, to Michael Murray, the state solicitor for the same city.
"I’m not doing this off the top of my head," Mr Ahern added.
"I’m doing this based on the hard evidence that the Garda Síochána have brought to me in the context of intimidation of jurors in Limerick and in Dublin."
Mr Ahern also sought to clarify the proposal which would allow expert Garda "opinion evidence" on the existence of criminal gangs to be admissible in trials.
"There is nothing in this bill which allows a guard to go in and say that ‘I believe [a certain person] is a member of a criminal gang’," he stressed.
"This expert evidence that is now being allowed potentially under this bill… is a scene-setter in order to have established in the court that there is in existence in a particular geographic area a criminal gang.
"This is [in] no way being used, and [could] be used, in relation to the guilt or otherwise of the actual defendant. It’s to set out the general existence of a gang."
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