Sentencing row - McDowell touched a raw nerve

RELATIONS between the judicial and legislative arms of State have reached a low ebb following yesterday’s broadside from the Court of Criminal Appeal in response to Justice Minister Michael McDowell’s recent allegation that judges were soft on crime.

While Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman stopped short of naming the minister, he made it clear the judges would pay no intention whatever to “strident and repeated” public comments from more than one source leading to “wide and excited” coverage in the media.

Mr Justice Hardiman made his comments during a case of a man appealing against the severity of his seven-year sentence for possession of cocaine, an appeal that was refused. Basically, he told the Government to back off, emphasising the right of judges to exercise their discretion in applying sentences.