Pre-trial publicity warning for media

The Director of Public Prosecutions has warned the media of the danger associated with pre-trial publicity interfering with the right of an accused person to a fair trial.

In a foreword to her office’s annual report, published yesterday, Claire Loftus advised journalists and other media commentators that they bear a “high degree of responsibility” to ensure they do not prejudice criminal proceedings.

She said she was making the remarks in a general sense. She made no reference to specific cases where the issue has arisen in the last few months, particularly in relation to trials pending against former bankers.

“The media and commentators have a high degree of responsibility to ensure that not only do they not commit a contempt of court by publishing or broadcasting prejudicialmaterial, but also that such publicity is not the cause of a trial being postponed for a long period, or even indefinitely,” she said.

“These risks increase as any trial date approaches.”

The DPP also referred to the backlog of cases in the Court of Criminal Appeal and the Supreme Court. She said she is concerned that the backlog of cases in the Court of Criminal Appeal is causing considerable delays to undue leniency reviews and other sentence and conviction appeals.

She welcomed the decision by the Courts Service to add a number of extra sitting days ahead of the beginning of the new legal year in October and noted the referendum on a Court of Appeal which is due to take place next month.

Staff numbers now stand at 191 and the total cost of running Ireland’s criminal prosecution service last year was €38.8m — an increase of €2.1m on the previous year.

However, the average cost per case has fallen from €35,562 in 2009 to €23,877 last year, while the fees paid to prosecution barristers was reduced by 26% between Mar 2009 and Oct 2011.

The DPP’s report shows €12.23m was paid to prosecuting lawyers last year, a fall of 9% on the previous year.

The office dealt with 15,289 files, a drop on the year before, although Ms Loftus said the size and complexity of the case files is increasing.