Kildare judge reveals the court case that ‘haunts’ him to this day
COMMENTS
A Naas District Court judge told the gardaí and a solicitor about a court case that 'haunts' him.
Judge Desmond Zaidan made the comments during a contested bail application heard in the court on Thursday, November 23 last.
The court session was held in-camera (in private), as the defendant was accused of committing three breaches of a 'full' barring order previously granted by the judge.
A garda who was sworn in objected to bail being granted to the accused, while defending solicitor took issue with the lack of any documents showing the nature of the barring order.
The garda said that while the order was not present before the court, it was logged in the gardaí’s official I.T. system.
When Mr Powderly put to the garda a number of conditions his client was willing to abide by, the garda said that none of the suggested conditions would alleviate his concerns.
Garda Sergeant David Hanrahan also told the judge: "The court is being asked to accept the word of a man who is subject to a full barring order — not an interim one; a full barring order."
After hearing the points from both sides, the judge noted that he has 'probably only ever granted' ten full barring orders in his years as a judge.
He pointed to one alleged domestic violence case he presided over where a man was accused of stabbing his wife in the arm, severing a main artery.
"It will always haunt me," he said: "I granted a full barring order and refused him bail.
"He was placed in custody for a total of 11 months.
"Then, it came out that her best friend had actually stabbed her; she was then put on trial and sentenced to two years in prison, but on appeal, the conviction was overturned."
Judge Zaidan added: "That will always be with me until the day I die, so anytime I grant a (full) barring order, it’s for a good reason."
After consideration, he ultimately decided that he was satisfied with the State’s concerns, and refused the defendant bail.