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GAZETTE
JULY/AUGUST 1982
District Court and the Press
by
District Justice Bernard Carroll
(The following is the text of an address to a Symposium of Provincial Newspaper Editors (held under the auspices of
the Law Society on Friday, 12 March, 1982).
C
ASES dealt with in the District Court may be divided
into two categories (1) Civil cases and (ii) Offence
cases.
Civil Cases are generally originated by means of a Civil
Process commonly referred to as a Civil Bill. In the Civil
Bill the Plaintiff either by himself or through his solicitor
briefly sets out the nature of his claim against the
Defendant i.e. amount due for goods sold and delivered,
amount due for services rendered etc. A copy of the Civil
Bill is served on the Defendant generally by registered post
at least 21 days before the hearing but in some areas where
there is still a summons server he can effect service. The
Original Civil Bill is filed with the District Court Clerk
together with a Declaration of Service and it is this Civil
Bill which is the document before the Court when the case
comes on for hearing. If the defendant intends to contest
the claim he must send a note of his intention to do so both
to the Plaintiff and the Court Clerk prior to the date of
hearing. This notice does not have to set out the grounds of
his Defence.
In offence cases be they Criminal Offences i.e.
Larceny, Malicious Damage, Entering premises etc. or
those known as summary offences which are either of a
non criminal or quasi criminal nature i.e. driving with
excess alcohol, dangerous driving etc. such prosecutions
may be originated (a) by way of summons or (b) by way of
a Charge Sheet. If the proceedings are commenced by way
of a summons details of the offence are set out in the
summons and a copy of the summons is served on the
Defendant at least seven days before the date of the Court
hearing to which the Defendant is summonsed to appear.
The original summons with the appropriate declaration of
service endorsed on it, is lodged with the District Court
Clerk and this document is before the Court in the Court
hearing.
If proceedings are commenced by way of Charge Sheet
the Offence(s) is/are set out in detail in the Charge Sheet
then read over to the Defendant by the Officer making the
charge and the Defendant is at the same time given a copy
of the charge(s) as contained in the Charge Sheet. The
Original Charge Sheet is lodged with the District Court
Clerk and is before the Court in the hearing of the charge.
This Original Charge Sheet is the only record of the
charges which are heard in Court and remains the only
record in the custody of the District Court Clerk after the
hearing of the case in Court.
In the case of Civil Bills and summonses which are
lodged with the District Court Clerk for Court hearings,
particulars of the contents thereof are entered (i) in the
case of Civil Bills in a book kept by the Court Clerk and
which is known as the Civil Process Book and (ii) in the
case of summonses in a similar type book known as the
Justice Minute Book. When the Justice pronounces his
decision a note of that decision is entered in the
appropriate column of the Civil Process Book or Minute
Book as the case may be and if a formal Order is required it
is later drawn up by the District Court Clerk from this
record and signed by the Justice. A person having a bona
fide interest in a matter which came before the District
Court can, on payment of the prescribed fee obtain from
the District Court Clerk a certified copy of the conviction
and order of the Court. Where offence cases are brought
before the Court by way of Charge Sheet the Justice
makes a note of his decision on the space provided on the
Charge Sheet and the formal order when required can be
drawn up by reference to the Justice's note on the Charge
Sheet. A Charge Sheet is generally used where the
defendant is arrested and taken to a Garda Station
whereas a summons is generally issued in cases where no
arrest has been made i.e. Road Traffic cases.
The records of the District Court for the purposes of this
paper and to all intents and purposes comprise the original
summons, the Charge Sheets, the Civil Processes and the
Minute Books. These records remain in the custody of the
District Court Clerk who is an officer of the Court and
would be subject to the direction of the Court in relation to
such records.
There is no provision in law whereby such records
should be made available as of right for inspection by
either representatives of the Press or members of the public.
My own experience however is that members of the press
are always facilitated in the matter of access to Court-
Records in the course of and following court hearings for
the purpose of checking the details and accuracy of
decisions and orders made by the Court prior to submitting
their reports to their news editors. It is naturally in the
public interest, that this should be so in the interest of
accurate reporting of such proceedings.
The other topic which naturally concerns the members
of the Press is their right of access and their right to be
present in Court during the hearing of Court-Proceedings.
Article 34 of the Constitution provides that, save in
such special and limited cases as may be prescribed by
law, justice shall be administered in public. Again, the
District Court rules provides that in all cases of summary
jurisdiction the place in which the Justice shall sit and hear
and determine any complaint shall be deemed an open
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