Why we’ll all be poorer for Judge James taking leave of the court

THE judiciary is to lose one of its more controversial characters with the news that Kerry district judge James O’Connor, pictured, is retiring.

O’Connor was appointed by then justice minister John O’Donoghue in 1998 and has made headlines again and again since then.

He was well known for his application of the ‘poor box’ penalty in lieu of a conviction. In 2016, the most recent year for which figures are available, over €1.5m was donated nationally to court poor boxes, of which Kerry alone accounted for almost €400,000.

But he was most famous for his remarks from the bench. In 2014 he struck out a case against a women accused of using a mobile phone while driving – even though she pleaded guilty – on the grounds that the garda might have been mistaken as to whether it was a phone or not. Why, Judge O’Connor had passed a man driving the other day holding to his ear what could easily have been a small alarm clock.

In 2008 he dismissed two charges of drunk driving on the grounds that the defendants in each case could have inhaled alcohol from their own urine in the Garda station. And in 2016 he postponed a driving ban on a man who was four times over the legal alcohol limit, in the hope that he could get to Lisdoonvarna matchmaking festival and find himself a wife.

Memorably, he also came to national attention when he was obliged to appear before himself back in 2012 on a charge of having no NCT disc on display in his car.

Sensibly enough he adjourned the matter and it was later dismissed (by a different judge), with O’Connor being ordered to pay – you’ve guessed it – a €250 donation to the poor box.