Witness protection case to be heard in private

A man’s legal action over the State’s alleged failure to live up to promises made to him under the witness protection programme will have to be heard behind closed doors, the High Court ruled yesterday.

David Mooney, a witness in a high-profile trial against two men convicted of involvement in organised and subversive crime, is suing the Garda Commissioner and the State for allegedly failing to abide by the agreement made when he entered the programme, including failing to give him a new identity and to relocate him to another country.

Yesterday, Mr Justice Paul Gilligan ruled the case should be heard in private to protect gardaí and others involved in administering the programme from being targeted by subversives and organised crime gangs.

The involvement of other countries, to which witnesses are relocated, could also be jeopardised if such involvement was to be openly discussed during a court trial, the judge said.

The state parties had asked the court to order that Mr Mooney’s action be heard otherwise than in public.

Mr Mooney opposed the application saying a hearing in open court was necessary to vindicate his rights. It was argued he remains in fear for his personal safety and that of his partner and child.

Mr Justice Gilligan said the court was very conscious the witness protection programme is a means of ensuring the State can provide adequate protection to witnesses who aid prosecution authorities in trials of people involved in subversive and organised crime.

It had to be borne in mind the Oireachtas had not seen the need to put the witness protection programme on a statutory footing, he said.

Therefore it was not possible to provide for any legislative exceptions to the constitutional requirement for justice to be administered in public, the judge said.

The trend of legal authorities to date was that in-camera orders should only be made in exceptional circumstances. This was an exceptional case, he said.

He had come to the conclusion the State will be impeded from a fair trial if the case is to be heard in public. Directions from the trial judge would not be sufficient to deal with concerns in relation to disclosure of information concerning the witness protection programme.

The court “has to be conscious of the present situation in Ireland. pertaining to subversives and organised crime” and there was no need to highlight the level of concern that must exist in this regard and to the general welfare of society, he said.

Evidence from the State that the identity of gardaí involved in the programme would render them targets for subversives and organised criminal gangs had not been contradicted by Mr Mooney, he said. Evidence that the programme itself would be seriously compromised if certain information was made public had also not been disputed, he said.

It had also to be borne in mind the order sought by the State did not compromise in any way Mr Mooney’s right to a fair trial.