Author Archives: Edward McGarr
Accused “X”, may I introduce you to your solicitor?
So, the accused is in a position where i) he is not obliged to say anything; ii) his solicitor’s advice is secret (privileged); and iii) he is menaced with an adverse inference if he remains silent.
May I Not Record You?
Under Section 19A an adverse inference may be drawn from the failure of an accused to mention a fact, later relied upon by him in his defence, while he is being questioned etc., by the Gardai.
UK Discovery
In Ireland, it is the person making the request who must justify it. In principle, that would be fine, if the process was not emptied of intellectual content by requiring that person to justify the request, not by relevance (that, bizarrely, is assumed) but by necessity.
Picturegate Redux
However, when he managed to remove his hands from the bowler hat AND IT REMAINED IN PLACE WITHOUT VISIBLE MEANS OF SUPPORT, the forces of the law pounced.
The Picture of Brian Cowen
One can imagine Mr. Cowen’s feelings when he learned of the hanging of two pictures of him in public, in which pictures he was shown, by implication only, as naked; firstly, possibly in the loo and secondly, holding his underpants.
Papers, please
Unfortunately, in Ireland, one, at least, of the Rules of the Superior Courts hinders the doing of justice. That rule currently governs the making of “discovery” in proceedings.
Prove It
That general sense is, often, a hankering for corroboration, as in “…yes, I took the bus home that day, here is the ticket showing the date, the time and the route number”. Here the proof is not the ticket, it is the statement, “I took the bus home…”.
Time Wasters
“Most of the suggestions put in cross-examination to the plaintiff as to what he should have done were farfetched and wholly unreal as I have already indicated.”
Bait and Switch
“Overbooking” involves the sale of more “product” than a trader can supply (usually on the principle that some consumers will cancel).
O’Leary’s Benefaction
There seems to be no end to the debt of gratitude the Irish (and now, the English) legal profession owe to the managing director of Ryanair. He has clarified the words of a suitable jurisdiction clause on websites to confer jurisdiction within the EU. See HERE for how he did it. (This writer has adapted those words below to accommodate his purposes and intentions. Feel free to appropriate the clause without attribution, but on terms of repudiation of liability by […]