Judge made harmless error, State tells Ian Bailey appeal

A High Court judge probably should not have warned key witness Marie Farrell about perjury in front of the jury hearing Ian Bailey’s damages case but it was a “harmless error”, the State has told the Court of Appeal.

The warning by Mr Justice John Hedigan to Ms Farrell, when seen in the entire circumstances of Mr Bailey’s civil case against the Garda commissioner and State, could not be regarded as having biased the jury against Mr Bailey, argued Paul O’Higgins.

He was opposing Mr Bailey’s appeal over the jury’s March 2015 dismissal of his claim that various gardaí conspired to frame him for the 1996 murder in West Cork of French filmmaker Sophie Toscan du Plantier.