A college lecturer was jailed by the Supreme Court yesterday after he refused to withdraw remarks that three Supreme Court judges were "corrupt". Afterwards, a smiling Denis Riordan declared: "I'm not coming out until my cases are properly heard by a properly constituted Supreme Court of Ireland." Mr Riordan (55), of Clonconane, Redgate, Limerick, is a frequent and well-known lay litigant. Among the many and largely unsuccessful cases he has taken are challenges to the Divorce Act, the referendum on the Belfast Agreement and the proposed nomination of former Supreme Court judge Hugh O'Flaherty to the post of vice-president of the European Investment Bank.
Under a 1999 High Court order, imposed after lawyers for the State complained that several cases taken by Mr Riordan were frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of court process, Mr Riordan is required to have permission from the court before he may take any proceedings against the Taoiseach, Tβnaiste, Government or State. A similar order was granted by the Supreme Court. Mr Riordan has claimed these orders effectively deny him access to the courts.
In June 2000, after the Supreme Court struck out as an abuse of court process a number of motions by Mr Riordan seeking to reopen his challenges to the Divorce Act and the procedures for amending Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution, Mr Riordan claimed the Supreme Court judges who had rejected his earlier challenges were biased and also alleged there was "absolute corruption". He said he would rather be locked up in Mountjoy Prison than be free in such a society.
Yesterday morning, Mr Riordan had an application before a three-judge Supreme Court - consisting of the Chief Justice, Mr Justice Keane; Mr Justice Murphy; and Mr Justice Hardiman - for a stay on orders for costs made against him arising from his unsuccessful proceedings to halt the 1998 referendum on the Belfast Agreement.
Mr Riordan has received a bill for some £48,000 in costs arising from those proceedings in the High and Supreme Court and was due to attend before a High Court Taxing Master next Tuesday regarding the costs issue. He also has to pay costs, as yet unspecified, of other unsuccessful proceedings taken by him.
After the court adjourned his application yesterday, Mr Riordan continued to address the court. The Chief Justice, Mr Justice Keane, asked him to cease and indicated some form of action would have to be taken if he persisted.
When the next case was called, Mr Riordan persisted in addressing the court and he referred to the three judges as "corrupt". The court ordered his immediate detention and he was taken from the courtroom by garda∅ at 11.45 a.m.
At 2.30 p.m., the court reassembled and Mr Riordan was again brought before it. He had been detained in the Bridewell garda station in the interim. The Chief Justice recalled what had happened that morning and asked Mr Riordan was he prepared to apologise, to withdraw the remarks he had made and to assure the court there would be no repetition of what had happened.
"If you fail to do so, more drastic measures will be taken," Mr Justice Keane said.
Mr Riordan responded: "I have no reason to apologise. What I said in court today is correct and true." Mr Justice Keane said: "The court is satisfied Denis Riordan is guilty of contempt and will commit him to prison." The judge told Mr Riordan he would be remanded in custody to Mountjoy Prison until he purged his contempt.
Mr Riordan remarked: "This is a corruptly constituted court." The three judges then left the court. Mr Riordan spoke to reporters and was hugged by some supporters before being taken to prison. He also telephoned his wife.
In his application yesterday, Mr Riordan had sought a stay on the costs orders on the grounds that he was entitled to have had his appeal against the High and Supreme Courts' rejection of his legal challenges heard by a Supreme Court consisting of eight judges. Although most Supreme Court cases are heard by courts consisting of three or five judges, Mr Riordan contended these are "divisional" courts and do not have the necessary jurisdiction to hear appeals.
In his affidavit grounding his application for a stay on the costs order, Mr Riordan made allegations of "endemic corruption" in the Supreme Court.
He also alleged: "The jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is to administer justice and the judges of the Supreme Court have no jurisdiction to hand down deliberately defective judgments to protect their corrupt friends as happened in Riordan's cases."
