State (Walshe) v Murphy

JurisdictionIreland
Judgment Date16 December 1981
Date16 December 1981
Docket Number[1981 No. 252 SS.]
CourtHigh Court
(S.C.)
The State (Walshe)
and
Murphy

Validity of appointment -Whether appointment of temporary District Justice reviewable by the courts - Statute - Interpreation - Purpose of enactment - Statutory qualifications for person to be appointed - Criminal law - Practice - Fair procedures - Production of document by prosecution - Courts of Justice Act, 1936 (No. 48), s. 51 - Road Traffic (Amendment) Act, 1978 (No. 19), ss. 22, 23 -Constitution of Ireland, 1937, Articles 13, 15, and36.

The prosecutor, as defendant, was convicted in the District Court by the first respondent at the hearing of a complaint that the prosecutor had driven a motor vehicle in a public place while there was present in his body an unlawful concentration of alcohol, contrary to s. 49, sub-s. 3, of the Road Traffic Act, 1961. At the date of the conviction the first respondent was acting as a temporary justice of the District Court, having been appointed to that office by the President of Ireland. Prior to the hearing of the complaint, the complainant had failed to comply with the prosecutor's repeated requests that he be furnished with a copy of a certificate, prepared by a statutory body, which stated the result of an analysis of a sample of the prosecutor's urine obtained from him shortly after the commission of the offence charged in the complaint. The certificate stated that the analysis showed that, at the time of the commission of the offence, the prosecutor had an unlawful concentration of alcohol in the sample. Section 23 of the Act of 1978 states that such certificate shall be sufficient evidence of the facts stated therein, until the contrary is shown. Section 51 of the Act of 1936 provides that a practising barrister or solicitor "of ten years standing at least" at the date of appointment may be appointed to act as a justice of the District Court for a limited period. The first respondent had practised as a barrister for 8 years until the year 1971; thereafter he was employed continually in the public service until his appointment as a justice of the District Court on the 22nd April, 1981. The prosecutor obtained in the High Court a conditional order of certiorariquashing his conviction, unless cause were shown to the contrary. At the hearing of the prosecutor's motion for an order absolute, notwithstanding the cause shown by the first respondent, it was Held by the High Court (Finlay P, Gannon and Hamilton JJ.), in disallowing the cause shown and making an order absolute...

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28 cases
  • Savage v DPP
    • Ireland
    • Supreme Court
    • 3 Julio 2008
    ...Whether real risk of unfair trial established - Braddish v DPP [2001] 3 IR 127, Murphy v DPP [1989] ILRM 71, The State (Walshe) v Murphy [1981] IR 275 and Z v DPP [1994] 2 IR 476 followed - Applicant's appeal dismissed (120/2005 - SC - 3/7/2008) [2008] IESC 39 Savage v DPP Facts: The appl......
  • Right to Know CLG v Commissioner for Environmental Information
    • Ireland
    • Supreme Court
    • 29 Abril 2022
    ...done or purporting to be done by him in the exercise and performance of these powers and functions.” 4 . In The State (Walshe) v. Murphy [1981] I.R. 275 Finlay P. for the Divisional High Court (Finlay P., Gannon and Hamilton JJ.) said as follows: “… the terms of Article 13 s.8 sub-s. 1, cov......
  • Beades v Ireland
    • Ireland
    • High Court
    • 3 Junio 2016
    ...with the Council of State. The President is effectively mandated to appoint the Government's nominee. In the State (Walshe) v. Murphy [1981] I.R. 275, Finlay P. presiding over a court of three judges (the other two judges concurred with his judgment) stated:- 'The President has a very grea......
  • Mac Aodháin v Éire and Others
    • Ireland
    • High Court
    • 19 Febrero 2010
    ...1037 AQUATECHNOLOGIE LTD v NATIONAL STANDARDS AUTHORITY OF IRELAND & ORS UNREP SUPREME 10.7.2000 2000/1/209 WALSHE, STATE v MURPHY & AG 1981 IR 275 1982/9/1576 COURTS OF JUSTICE ACT 1936 S51 MURPHY v DUBLIN CORP & MIN FOR LOCAL GOVT 1972 IR 215 1973 107 ILTR 65 AMBIORIX LTD & ORS v MIN F......
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2 books & journal articles
  • Impartiality in Judicial Appointments: an Absent Concept?
    • Ireland
    • Trinity College Law Review No. X-2007, January 2007
    • 1 Enero 2007
    ...office holders. These requirements were largely repeated in the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961. In The State (Walshe) v Murphy [1981] IR 275, it was held that the qualification requirements set out in the 1961 Act are within the contemplation of Article 360 of the Constitution, w......
  • Judicial Conduct in Ireland: a Framework Fit for Purpose?' the Bangalore Principles and the Judicial Council Act 2019
    • Ireland
    • Irish Judicial Studies Journal No. 1-22, January 2022
    • 1 Enero 2022
    ...Principles go an important stage further; they envisage a regulatory framework on judicial conduct. 16 See The State (Walshe) v Murphy [1981] IR 275, at 286-287 (Divisional High Court, Finlay P, Gannon and Hamilton JJ). 17 All-Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution, Fourth Progress ......

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