Wigs on the green
Judges and lawyers to lay down the law in new courts venue... Croker
CROKE Park may have had empty stands for much of the year – but now the venue is to hold court as an arena for major criminal trials.
While GAA fans may feel like it is a crime to ban attendance at matches in the historic stadium, there will be actual wigs on the green of Croker soon in the form of judges and the country’s top legal eagles.
The Courts Service has hired conference facilities at the stadium, to allow lengthy trials involving large numbers of people to be held while the pandemic continues.
Lack of space at the Criminal Courts of Justice on Parkgate Street has meant it is not safe to hold certain trials, which may have a number of defendants, together with their legal teams, jurors, the judge, court staff, and members of the Irish Prison Service and An Garda Síochána, plus court reporters.
Mark Dorman, Croke Park’s stadium chief, said: ‘ It is appropriate that this great national venue should be used as a vital support for the democratic functioning of the country, as together we work to recover from the past months of crisis.
‘Courts play a vital role in maintaining access to justice, and law and order in any country... Croke Park is not unused to great adversarial battles, and provides a suitable arena to hold courts.
‘The GAA welcomes the courts to Croke Park, and hope we can build on the relationship that has been established over the years by GAA clubs regularly hosting court sittings, when needed.’
One such case, listed to begin on January 25, involves eight men who f ace 16 charges of assault and violent disorder relating to an alleged incident on February 7, 2015, in Hartstown, Dublin 15.
It is estimated that for that trial, the courtroom will have to accommodate up to 50 socially distanced people at any one time. The threemonth contract with Croke Park was signed by Angela Denning, chief executive of the Courts Service, and the GAA’s Mark Dorman.
The cost of hiring the venue is €437,000, and the Courts Servi c e has said t hat additional costs relating to using Croke Park, including security, catering, and other information and computer technology costs, are estimated at around €302,000.
However, it said that much of the technology would be reused i n existing court buildings once the contract with Croke Park has ended.
A Courts Service spokesman said: ‘The new court facility will allow for three courts to sit, and it i s planned to provide up to 200 court si t t i ng days during t he agreement, from January to March 2021.’
He said those cases expected to last the longest would be held in Croke Park, minimising the turnover of people using the CCJ, but that the full schedule of trials had not yet been released.
The three courts at Croke Park will be in addition to the six courts in the CCJ that are already accommodating Central Criminal Court and Circuit Criminal Court trials.
The initiative is part of the Courts Service’s plan to ensure as much court business as possible can continue safely during the pandemic.
A key requirement for buildings being used for trials is that there are a number of different routes for people to come in and out, separating those in custody from the general public, for example.
New, digital ways of working have reduced the footfall around courts and offices, with increased use of videolinks, filing online, eLicensing, remote courts, telephone booking, and communicating with jurors via text. In 2020 there were 2,100 virtual court hearings, covering thousands of motions, mentions, callovers, lists and full hearings.