This article is from page 5 of the 2007-11-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 5 JPG
A REMARKABLY low level of convictions are being recorded by juries in the Circuit Criminal Court in Clare, with less than a quarter of jury trials resulting in convictions this year.
Just three juries convicted defend- ants in the 13 criminal trials that took place in the Circuit Court during this year. Seven of the trials resulted in acquittals – a combination of jury de- cisions and directions by judges. In two of the trials, the juries could not decide and were advised to returned “disagreed” verdicts.
Of the three convictions, just one individual was forced to spend a pe- riod of more than one week behind bars. One Ennis individual, who was found not guilty of assault causing harm but was convicted by a jury of the lesser charge of assault, was jailed for six months.
In a criminal damage case, a Kil- rush man who was found guilty and was remanded in custody for one week. An 18-month jail term, sus- pended, was later imposed.
In the other case where a conviction was recorded, a two-year suspended term was imposed after a defendant was convicted of making thousands of nuisance phonecalls to the Garda emergency line.
However, there have been several
guilty pleas entered in the Circuit Court and many of those have had tough sentences imposed.
The recent trials in the Circuit Court resulted in juries returning two “not guilty” verdicts – one in- volved a charge of manslaughter and the other indecent assault charges – while a jury failed to reach a verdict in the case of a young Kilrush man
who was accused of assault causing harm. That young man was found not guilty by the jury of stealing a mo- bile phone.
Of the seven trials that took place during the June sittings, three de- fendants were acquitted, three were convicted and one jury was unde- cided.
During the court sessions last Feb- ruary, two young men from Kilrush were acquitted of assault, while an- other man, accused of dangerous driving causing death, was also ac- quitted. In another case, of allega- tions of indecent assault, the jury was discharged by the judge, follow- ing legal argument.
The trend follows on from last year, when several acquittals were recorded, during the Circuit Court sittings in the county. Two assault cases, along with cases of danger- ous driving causing death, threat to kill and threatening an individual all concluded with acquittals.
Ennis solicitor John Casey said it is difficult for a conviction to be re- fey xelere
“It is not an easy thing to get a con- viction before any jury, because of the legal intricacies, but every case has to be looked at on its own mer- its,’ said Mr Casey.