Diesel laundering accused loses Supreme Court recusal appeal

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The Supreme Court dismissed an unnamed man’s appeal in a diesel laundering case, reported on 9 November 2021.

He had challenged a Circuit Court judge’s refusal to step aside from his retrial after the jury in his first trial could not reach a verdict.

The Supreme Court held that no binding legal rule requires recusal after an inconclusive trial involving a judge’s ruling on disputed evidence in a preliminary application.

Justice O’Malley said earlier rulings’ merits should not determine whether the recusal test for bias is met; past errors alone do not show future bias.

She said established procedures can address judicial errors, and that a judge may sometimes prudently agree to recuse.