A Circuit Criminal Court Judge has refused to lift a temporary ban on media reporting of certain details of a hearing involving former Taoiseach Charles Haughey. Mr Haughey had applied to the court to have his trial, due to take place in March, adjourned until the Moriarty Tribunal had concluded. He faces two charges of obstructing the McCracken Tribunal.
Yesterday, his legal team was granted a temporary order which bans the media from reporting the details of newspaper articles that they are presenting to the court to support their claim that adverse publicity surrounding Mr Haughey has damaged his right to a fair trail. The application was made by lawyers for The Irish Times and the Irish Independent.
This morning, Richard Nesbitt for the Irish Times pointed out that these articles are already in the public domain. He said it was unlikely that a jury sworn in to try him would be unable to distinguish between evidence in court and publicity in the past. However, Judge Kevin Haugh ruled that his temporary ban would stay in place.
