The Northern Ireland editor of the Sunday Tribune newspaper, Ed Moloney, has won the right to seek a judicial review of a judge's ruling that he hand notes of an interview with a Loyalist suspect over to the police. The suspect has since been charged with the murder of Catholic solicitor Patrick Finucane. Mr. Moloney had been given until today to produce his notes of an interview nine years ago with loyalist William Stobie.
However, in the High Court today, Mr. Justice Kerr extended the time limit until next Tuesday, when a date will also be set for the hearing of the application for judicial review. Mr. Moloney, who was not in court today because of professional commitments, has consistently argued that to hand over his notes would jeopardise his career and would be a breach of journalistic ethics.
Mr. Justice Kerr said, in granting leave for the hearing, that he wished to correct a popular misconception that such a move somehow signified that an applicant was likely to be successful. He said that an applicant need only establish that he enjoys an arguable case and the decision to grant leave merely reflects the court's view that that very modest hurdle has been surmounted.
Reviewing the arguments presented by Mr. Moloney's lawyer, Michael Lavery, QC, the judge said that the principal ground appeared to be the submission that the notes were unlikely to be of any substantial value, because the evidence was already known to police. He said that it had been submitted that the true purpose of the court action against Mr. Moloney was to obtain confirmation of evidence that police already had, in the form of statements and notes provided by former journalist Neil Mulholland, now an information officer with the NIO, and the admissions made by Mr. Stobie.
Mr. Justice Kerr said that it was a difficult proposition, bearing in mind that access had not yet been obtained to Mr. Moloney's notes. He said that there was much force in the Crown's argument that a terrorist investigation was not to be confined to production of new or fresh material. He said that it is strongly arguable that material which confirms information already obtained may be properly characterised as being of substantial value. Adjourning the hearing until Tuesday, Mr. Justice Kerr said that Judge Anthony Harte, who made the original order, might wish to instruct counsel who could make representations to the court.
