This article is from page 6 of the 2013-09-17 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
A DISTRICT Court judge has warned he will stop granting legal aid if accused persons continue to fail to attend court. Judge Patrick Durcan said courts in Clare are “unduly lenient” when it comes to granting legal aid to so- licitors. However he said this practice would come to an end if the high rate of client “no-shows” continues. He made his comments at Ennis District Court on Wednesday after issuing a high number of bench warrants for accused people who failed to turn up for scheduled court appearances. He described the number of people who failed to attend court as “appalling”. “There is going to have to be some sort of crackdown,” added Judge Durcan. After being told that one man was unable to attend court because he had to attend hospital because of gland problems, Judge Durcan said he would consider withholding legal aid unless people turned up in court. “There is no medical certificate for this man,” he added. Describing the day as an “eyeopener”, Judge Durcan added, “It is up to practitioners to inculcate their clients to be here.” Judge Durcan has previously been critical of the time keeping of people brought before courts in Clare. In July he said, “I am reaching the conclusion that timekeeping in this county is the worst in the country.” He was speaking after a woman was not present when her case was called at Ennis District Courthouse. Judge Durcan said he finds it “enraging” when defendants do not show up on time. He said he had been dealing with matters in chambers since 10pm but defendants could not be on time for court, which usually starts at 10.30am.