Jury panel asked to attend court despite tomorrow's barrister strike

PEOPLE who were issued with a jury summons will be asked to attend Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court tomorrow as scheduled despite barristers indicating they will go on strike.

Criminal barristers in Mayo have indicated that they will join their colleagues across the country in strike action tomorrow (Tuesday, October 3) which will mean the criminal courts will not be able to do their normal day’s work.

Tomorrow is the first day of Michaelmas term, the first full day of the legal year, with four weeks of criminal business scheduled to take place in Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court. A number of jury trials are scheduled to take place over the next four weeks with 15 defendants listed for trial tomorrow morning.

Over 300 people in Mayo were issued with jury summons for the trials to take place over the next month and the empanelling of juries is due to begin tomorrow afternoon.

A spokesperson for the court service in Castlebar Courthouse told The Mayo News that despite the anticipated strike action, people are asked to answer their jury summons and attend tomorrow's sitting as scheduled.

“The jury panels are being asked to attend as normal but we have no idea what will happen until the judge is on the bench tomorrow morning,” the spokesperson said.

It is expected that the sitting circuit court judge will be informed that the business of the day can not be able to go ahead due to the strike action and the jury panel will be asked to return on Wednesday for the empanelling of the juries.

Criminal barristers across the country are due to withdraw their services for one day on Tuesday, October 3 as part of a major escalation of the Council of the Bar of Ireland's campaign for fee restoration.

The current dispute is over the fees paid to barristers by the Director of Public Prosecutions, and under the Legal Aid scheme which were cut in the wake of the financial crisis in 2008. Criminal barristers argue that they have suffered a pay cut, in real terms, of more than 40 percent in the last 20 years.

The Mayo Solicitors Bar Association backed the strike and in a statement called on the Government to try to resolve the issues relating to criminal legal aid.

Catherine Bourke, President of the Mayo Solicitors Bar Association (MSBA) stated that the rates in legal aid are 20 years old and do not represent the true cost of providing legal services to clients.

“Demand for solicitors providing services to the State’s criminal legal aid system is increasing. However, many practitioners are choosing to leave the profession to work in other areas of law or to work for the State, because the remuneration provided in this area is not commensurate with the demands of the role.

“The lack of investment by Government is creating an unviable criminal legal aid system with clear consequences for access to justice. ‘Legal aid deserts’ are already emerging in some parts of the country where there may only be one solicitor available to take legal aid cases, or in in some cases none at all. In this context, the case for restoration of criminal legal aid fees is irrefutable,” she stated.

The Bar of Ireland said that it had engaged with consecutive Governments on the issue, but that no progress had been made 'despite barristers delivering at least the same level of reform and flexibility delivered by other professional groups for whom cuts have been reversed'.

Ms Bourke said that criminal legal aid work is the only part of the public sector not to have pay cuts reinstated and called on the Government to invest appropriately.

“The MSBA believes in the rule of law and the effective and fair administration of justice. Solicitors who undertake work on behalf of the State in the defence of their clients have a critical role to play in the administration of justice and must be paid a fair rate for the work that they do. We call on the Government to invest appropriately in the criminal legal aid system and to act urgently to prevent the withdrawal of legal services on October 3 next,” she concluded.