Murphy launches new legal challenge to trial
More legal news. From the Irish Courts this time. “Good republican” Thomas ‘Slab’ Murphy has been remanded on continuing bail until the end of May pending the outcome of another legal challenge to his trial in the Special Criminal Court on nine charges of failing to “furnish a return of his income, profits or gains to the Collector General or the Inspector of Taxes for the years 1996/97 to 2004.” The last reports on the case, in November last year, had suggested that “It is unlikely the prosecution will be challenged.” Still, due process and all that.. Adds Whether that affects the outcome of “a year of negotiations” isn’t clear..
I’m no fan or Mr.Murphy, but if all they are trying him for is tax evasion, I can’t for the life of me understand why they are intent on going to the Special Criminal Court. Are they trying to do an end run around the laws of evidence and saying to the Judge, nudge nudge nod wink, “There’s more to this man than meets the eye Your Honour, and we hope you take that in account when weighing this tax evasion stuff”.
If so, it brings the law edifice into disrepute.
“it brings the law edifice into disrepute”
What ‘repute’ does it have, Joe? Just think of some of the folks who appear to have been given a ‘stay out of jail’ card by the authorities in London and Dublin acting jointly.
Joe
If you wiki it you find that:-
“The Special Criminal Court (Irish: Cúirt Choiriúil Speisialta) is a juryless criminal court in the Republic of Ireland which tries terrorist and organized crime cases. Article 38 of the Constitution of Ireland empowers the Dáil to establish “special courts” with wide-ranging powers when “the ordinary courts are inadequate to secure the effective administration of justice”. The court was first established by the Dáil under the Offences Against the State Act, 1939 [1] to prevent the Irish Republican Army from subverting Ireland’s neutrality during World War II (see: the Emergency). The current incarnation of the Special Criminal Court dates from 1972, just after the Troubles in Northern Ireland began.”
Satisdified?
If some people dont like smuggling then they should work to remove the border until then, for many, it will be a legitimate form of revenue generation for Irish people on both sides of the border.
UK subjects such as Mr. Murphy wishing to visit our country need to respect our laws or stay at home.
JS, Slab’s property IIRC straddles the border. I wonder if the UK revenue folks have his card marked too.
Nevin
They already have. Marked his card, that is.
Cynic,
Fair enough; facts I wasn’t aware of. I thought it was just terrorist cases.
Satisfied? Yes.
If you don’t recognise the border or the legitimacy of the administrations on either side of the English border, then Slab is nothing but ‘a good republican’, isn’t he?
A whisper from Gerry then and its
‘s bedtime…..;You do get excited Pete!
I see a symmetry here….
Gerry was never in the IRA
and
Slab was never a criminal
Both were just ‘good republicans’
cynic,do you KNOW if Adams was in the IRA or are you just running off at the mouth?
Gerry was merely a duffel coat salesman, who happened to be photographed in the wrong places at the wrong time.
Rubbish! He was a false beard model with considerable international experience, who, um, happened to be photographed in the wrong places at the wrong time.
No Gerry was a barman in Belfast and that was a lookalike that was photographed wearing the black berry and carrying the coffins of IRA deceased. I wonder does Gerry have the latest techno toy these days? The Blackberry !
Archie,
avoid temptation on ‘open mike’ nights.
Gerry was never a part of the IRA. But, I can see why some people thought otherwise.