A member of the South-Western Regional Fisheries Board who has been charged with illegal salmon fishing in a sanctuary near his home, had the case against him adjourned yesterday at Casteltownbere District Court.
Judge James O'Connor is to consider case law with regard to pre-trial publication in two newspapers of matters surrounding the case against Mr John O'Shea.
Mr Colm Murphy, solicitor for Mr O'Shea, of Cleanderry, Ardgroom, Beara, argued that the case should be dismissed as his client could not get a fair trial as a result of a headline in the Kerryman newspaper, and the subsequent naming of Mr O'Shea in the Sunday Mirror.
"Taken together, the articles mean he cannot get a fair trial," Mr Murphy said. Both papers were "widely read" on the Beara.
The front page headline "Member of Fisheries Board caught Poaching" in the Kerryman on July 18th, 2002 implied his client was convicted already, even though the article itself was fine, Mr Murphy said.
While the Kerryman did not name his client, an article in the Sunday Mirror in late August did.
Judge James O'Connor said poaching was a common term and the Kerryman article did not do any damage. There were 22 members on the board in south Kerry and west Cork, Judge O'Connor was told in reply to a question. The fact the article said it was "a member" meant it did not prejudice him, the judge felt. However, the article in the Sunday Mirror was "a different story" and he would have to take some time with it and the Kerryman article.
Mr Murphy is to furnish the court with details of a 1976 case, the DPP v. The Irish Press.
Judge O'Connor added he had not read the Sunday Mirror "in years". He also pointed out it was a district court trial and there was no jury involved.
Mr Vincent Coakley, solicitor for the South Western regional Fisheries Board, suggested Mr Murphy was in "the wrong forum" and it was a matter for the High Court. Mr Murphy said he also had concern about how the information was imparted - journalists were not on the pier when Mr O'Shea was apprehended.
Mr O'Shea, who is a representative of the drift net sector on the board, faces four charges with regard to the possession of 12 salmon in the sea at Cleanderry Harbour on what is known as the Kenmare River. The charges include using a boat and drift net to catch the salmon on July 9th, 2002 on the tidal waters of the Kenmare district. Drift netting has been prohibited on the Kenmare, which is a sanctuary under a 1913 bye-law to preserve salmon and sea trout stocks.