Minister rejects claims of judicial interference
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell rejected a judge’s accusation today that he was interfering in the judicial process.
Judge John Neilan, presiding over Mullingar District Court, has refused to hear any drink driving cases for the next six months.
Last week he told the Co Offaly court that he would automatically lock up everyone found guilty of drink driving for a week while he considered their punishment.
But Mr McDowell said such actions would be unlawful, adding that while the judiciary was independent, everyone had the right to bail and good only be locked up for “good and legal reasons”.
In the latest twist, Judge Neilan, a vociferous anti drink driving campaigner, told the court his decision not to hear such cases would show his “absolute belief that justice is above reproach”.
A spokeswoman for the minister said Mr McDowell had made it clear that it was up to each individual judge how he runs his court.
“He believes it would be illegal and unconstitutional to have a general policy to jail all convicted drunk drivers for a week,” she said.
“The Attorney General confirmed this view the comment speaks for itself. He was not interfering.”
When asked about the case, Mr McDowell said he could only comment on the circumstances in general terms.
But Fine Gael justice spokesman Jim O’Keeffe claimed his comments demonstrated a “startling lack of judgement”.
He said there was a well-accepted separation between the judiciary and the executive, describing it as “extremely unwise” for a minister to comment publicly on judges’ statements.
“I would like to see the president of the District Court stepping in to resolve this dispute and to ensure that drink-driving cases will not be delayed,” he said.
“It would be wrong if this battle of words between the judge and the minister led to a failure of the administration of justice in this region.”
