A sitting of the Morris tribunal was deferred yesterday while a High Court challenge by a detective sergeant to have a new module adjourned was being heard.
Tribunal lawyers said they would also voluntarily not sit today until they knew the outcome of the case in a judgment to be delivered by Mr Justice Paul Butler this morning.
Det Sgt John White, who was not present in court, wants the new Burnfoot module adjourned. It concerns an allegation that he planted a gun in a Traveller encampment, which he denies.
The tribunal was scheduled to sit yesterday on the first day of the module at 10.30am, with Det Sgt White as the first witness. With the High Court proceedings going ahead, it was put back to 2pm and then deferred to later today, depending on the outcome of the judgment.
Tribunal chairman Mr Justice Morris had ruled after an application by the DPP that the module should be heard in private but he refused to adjourn it.
The time factor arose yesterday when the High Court was told that Det Sgt White, who is suspended, was charged on June 20th, 2001, with possession of a double-barrelled, sawn-off, 12-gauge shotgun in Burnfoot on May 22nd, 1998.
In June 2004, he took a High Court case seeking to prohibit his prosecution. The case was heard last June and judgment is still awaited. Appeals would then also be expected at every stage.
Michael Collins SC, for the tribunal, said if they did not go ahead now with the module it may never go ahead as the tribunal would have to end at some stage. Det Sgt White's lawyer, John Whelan SC, said it was never his client's intention to obstruct or hinder the work of the tribunal but he had a constitutional right to a fair trial.
Tribunal lawyers Peter Charleton SC and Paul McDermott SC and other members of the legal team were present yesterday.
Whatever the judgment today, the party who loses will likely appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, raising the possibility of further delays to the tribunal.