Colleagues defend judge over ‘coloured people’ remarks

A DISTRICT court judge who sparked controversy over his remark that shopping centres might ban ‘coloured people’ has been defended as exceptionally hard-working.

Judge John Neilan has been widely criticised for warning two women from the Ivory Coast, Africa, who pleaded guilty to shoplifting in Longford that ‘coloured people’ might be banned from local businesses altogether if such behaviour was not stamped out.

The Green Party condemned the remarks and has called on the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, to introduce anti-racism training for judges.

But last night, colleagues of Judge Neilan, who presides over one of the largest district court areas in the country, said his bark is a lot worse than his bite.

“He simply wants to frighten people when they come before him. He doesn’t want to see them back again and again. And it seems to work,” one local said.

Judge Neilan is vehemently anti- drink driving and has been known to hand out jail sentences for such offences, penalties which were later overturned by higher courts on appeal. Recently he has handed out 800 fines, along with disqualification.

The married teetotal judge is in his early 50s and has a young adult family. His brother, Brian, is the state solicitor for the Roscommon area.

Judge Neilan is no stranger to making headlines. During the foot- and-mouth scare, he suggested pubs might close to prevent any spread of the disease.

During a recent Travellers’ dispute in Glenamaddy, he announced in court he had received threatening phone calls to his home, which puzzled him as his number is ex-directory. And when a taxi was hijacked in Castlepollard, he lambasted RTÉ for its coverage of the case.

It was ironic that the same judge then found himself the subject of a lengthy discussion earlier this week on RTÉ radio’s Joe Duffy show.

Judge Neilan has been quoted as saying it was an outrage and an insult to suggest that there was anything insidious behind his comments in court.

“I thought I was being helpful, now I am being maligned for that,” he said. Green Party spokesperson on Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Ciarán Cuffe, said his party is gravely concerned by comments made by Judge Neilan.

“Immediate action needs to be taken in the form of anti-racism training and awareness raising for judges to ensure such comments are not aired by judges in the future,” he said.

The Green Party has written to Mr McDowell, requesting that anti-racism training be incorporated into equality legislation as a matter of urgency, and that a complaints board be established where people can report inappropriate behaviour by judges.

In 1998 the Working Group on

Judicial Ethics and Standards asked the previous minister to set up such a board. No action has been taken to date.