23 cases pending in military courts after two-year wait to appoint judge

Military courts have a backlog of cases after new figures show that just eight courts-martial were held last year following the appointment of a military judge in September.

The time taken to appoint the judge meant a period of inactivity, and the Defence Forces have confirmed that 23 courts-martial are pending.

Of the eight cases heard by a military judge last year, four were summary courts-martial, four were appeals, and all involved personnel at Dublin’s McKee Barracks.

In one case, a sergeant was found guilty of four charges of “committing conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline” and fined €812.07.

The breaches took place last June, as did a number of infractions allegedly carried out by a corporal at the barracks.

He was found guilty on three charges — being under the influence of an intoxicant, behaving in an insubordinate manner, and disobeying a lawful command — for which he forfeited seniority of rank for four years and was fined the sum of €433.50 twice. The same corporal was found not guilty of two other charges, including “offering violence to a superior officer”.

A private was discharged from the Defence Forces after facing a charge of desertion and going missing for 736 days. He was found guilty by absence.

In another case, a corporal was found guilty on one of two charges of committing conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline and was reprimanded.

The court also heard four appeals last year. In a case involving a corporal, all nine rulings made against him and the punishments handed down to him were quashed. The corporal had previously been found guilty of disobeying commands and insubordination.

A similar determination made against a trooper was struck out on appeal, as was a finding of indiscipline against a private.

In another case, this time involving a sergeant who had been found guilty of being insubordinate, the initial ruling was confirmed but the punishment was scaled down to a severe reprimand.

In two of the cases, the appeals were not contested by prosecutors.

Michael Campion was appointed as a colonel in the permanent Defence Force to hear cases last summer and took his position in September. His appointment ended a two-year wait for a judge to hear cases following the retirement of the previous military judge in Jul 2010, and in the intervening two-year period just three cases were heard by an interim judge.