A ‘quite improper’ ruling on the judiciary

NOTHING to see here, folks, now move along please. So went the tone of the statement issued by the presidents of the High and Circuit Courts on Monday evening regarding the latest controversy to hit the judiciary.

It’s not good enough. Questions have been left hanging. The issue of judges interfering in cases outside their remit has resurfaced. The lack of accountability in the judiciary has come home to roost again. And confidence in the secret courts conducted in family law is again looking shaky. All of that is apart from questions about the incident itself, which have gone unaddressed.

Here is what we do know: In late July 2010, the High Court Judge Henry Abbott met his Circuit Court colleague Desmond Hogan in the yard of the Four Courts. In the course of a casual conversation, Hogan asked Abbott if it was true he had made a particular order in a family law case.