Controversy will not disturb Judge Pattwell, writes Carol Coulter, Legal Affairs Correspondent
Judge Michael Pattwell has been criticised before but has always been able to carry on regardless. He will be undisturbed by the controversy generated by the sentence he imposed on Tim Allen.
He is also prepared to defend his actions and his views in the media and has given a number of interviews to journalists.
Eight years ago he did not hesitate to criticise the then minister for justice, Ms Nora Owen, for allegedly interfering in the work of the courts. The case concerned a man charged with dangerous driving. The judge said a letter from the Minister to local gardaí was a serious attack on the authority of the judiciary. He was later criticised in the Seanad for allegedly "moving into the political arena".
He was a vociferous critic of the petition system, the routine use of which was later ruled unconstitutional by the High Court.
He incurred the wrath of the Southern Law Association, which represents solicitors in the Munster area, when he sentenced a female solicitor to prison for contempt of court during a family law case. This led to a boycott of his court by members of the association and the dispute was only settled two weeks later with an agreed form of words read to him in private by the solicitor.
During the Allen case this week he admonished Mr Colm Allen SC for not wearing a wig and gown in his court and Mr Allen was forced to apologise and assure him he meant no disrespect.
Despite all this, he is held in high regard by lawyers in Cork. "He's a very, very good lawyer," said one barrister. "He's very tough but he's extremely clever and knows the law very well."
Another lawyer praised his child-centred approach to law. "He's a good judge and knows the law backwards. He's very tough on certain things, especially public order."
Judge Pattwell started his legal career as a court clerk, later studying law and working as a solicitor in his native Clonakilty in Co Cork. He then worked in Dublin County Council as a deputy law agent and for Cork County Council as its senior executive solicitor. In 1990 he was appointed to the District Court.