The High Court has rejected a bid by Mr George Redmond to stop his trial on corruption charges.
Mr Redmond (78), the retired Dublin assistant county manager, had claimed he could not get a fair trial because of extensive adverse publicity about his affairs.
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Mr George Redmond
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In his judgment this morning, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns said that while he accepted there had been adverse publicity relating to Mr Redmond, the jury system was "robust". He said any risk of prejudice could be avoided or overcome by the issue of appropriate warning and directions by the trial judge to the jury in Mr Redmond's case.
"To the extent that there may be some risk, I believe that risk can be avoided or overcome by the giving of appropriate warning and directions by the trial judge, both before a jury is empanelled and during the course of the trial itself. I do not believe that in this case any adverse publicity is so prejudicial as to preclude the trial judge from pursuing that option," he said.
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Mr Justice Kearns also said the trial judge in Mr Redmond's case would be obliged at the time of empanelling the jury to establish whether any potential member felt their view of Mr Redmond had been coloured by the publicity.
"It is beyond question . . . that there has been a considerable amount of adverse publicity in the media concerning Mr Redmond. Some of the publicity goes beyond mere reporting of events in the Flood tribunal or Mr Redmond's later court appearances and consists of colour pieces or other commentary which focuses on Mr Redmond himself, frequently portraying him in unflattering terms, something which arguably is even
more prejudicial for that very reason."
"It is impossible to conclude that a jury panel convened for the purpose of empanelling a jury in Mr Redmond's trial would not contain persons who had never been exposed to some, at least, of this material," he added.
Mr Justice Kearns conceded that the individual's right to a fair trial was superior to the right of the community to prosecute. However, he ruled that in this case a fair trial was still possible. A "fade factor" would take effect "to diffuse further the effect of adverse publicity" he said, noting Mr Redmond's trial would not take place until sometime in 2003 at the earliest.
Counsel for Mr Redmond, Mr Paddy McEntee SC, had argued last week that because of the extensive media coverage, any jury couldn't help but being prejudiced against his client.
Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns was told that the affairs of Mr Redmond have been the subject of an "orgy of coverage" by the media for the past four years.
A large number of copies of newspaper coverage and transcripts of radio broadcasts relating to Mr Redmond were given to the court by his lawyers.