Tralee Circuit Court resumes, after two hung juries and legal aid turmoil

By Anna Zacharias, The Kerryman

On Tuesday, Tralee Circuit Court resumes.

On the first day, judges, barristers and solicitors go through a ‘call-over’, reading through the list of cases to determine which can be heard at the upcoming session, which will be adjourned and if any will be dismissed.

This circuit court session opens at a tumultuous time for the local courts.

Kerry solicitors continue to participate in a national withdrawal of services due to a dispute over a new system for criminal legal aid payments.

Without them, most cases cannot go forward.

Court clerks are now working restricted hours as part of the national Civil Service work-to-rule action over public sector pay.

If concerns are not addressed, it will likely escalate to a full strike.

Two cases on Tuesday’s list are of particular note.

In both cases, a woman accused her father of child sexual abuse.

In both cases, the jury returned an answer of ‘no verdict’ to all charges at a trial in June.

The first trial saw a father charged with two counts of sexual assault when his daughter was 10, and five counts when she was 16.

At the end of the first day of deliberations, the jury informed the judge they had reached a deadlock.

The following week, another jury heard the case of a woman who alleged her father sexually assaulted her from her earliest memories in the 1970s until she left home as a teenager in the 1980s.

He faced five counts of indecent assault on a female under age 15 and one count of indecent assault on a female.

The jury began its deliberations on the Friday of the trial and returned its answer of ‘no verdict’ the following Tuesday.

On October 6, the Director of Public Prosecutions will indicate whether re-trials may proceed.

This can only happen if the complainant is willing.

In Tralee, she must testify in a witness box about a metre away from the dock where the accused sits.

She has her back to him, facing a jury on the opposite end of the courtroom.

Before court begins each morning, witnesses, lawyers and the accused must wait together in the small courthouse entry hall before the courtroom doors are unlocked.

If these cases proceed, transcriptions of the trial will be provided to legal teams. Witnesses will be organised and a new date will be set.

If that happens, the witness must once again sit in front of the father who she says sexually assaulted her throughout childhood, facing a jury of her peers.

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can Adapt Kerry Women’s Refuge on their 24-hour helpline 066 712 9100 or the Rape Crisis Centre on Freephone 1 800 77 88 88