Two men accused of publishing photographs of two teenage boys convicted of murder have been granted leave by the High Court to challenge a decision by the District Court to have them tried in a higher court.
25-year-olds Kyle Rooney from Rathvale Park, Ayrfield, Dublin, and Jamie Shannon, Bremor, Castlegate, Balbriggan, Co Dublin, have taken a High Court action to challenge the District Court's refusal to try the case.
Both men are alleged to have published photographs on their Twitter accounts in June 2019 of the two boys convicted of the murder of a teenage girl.
The Children Act 2001 makes it an offence to publish the identity of children accused or convicted of a crime.
The offence can be prosecuted in the District Court where the maximum penalty is 12 months imprisonment and/or a fine of up to €1,900 or sent to the Circuit Court where stiffer penalties may be imposed.
Last October, Judge Brian O'Shea was told the DPP had directed summary disposal of the cases in the District Court.
The two men's cases were among ten other similar cases.
The judge accepted jurisdiction and adjourned the cases after hearing a summary of the facts.
But when they returned before the District Court in December Judge John Hughes heard an outline of the alleged facts in each case and decided they were not minor and should not be tried in the District Court.
The cases were then adjourned until March to allow time for the DPP to indicate consent to the defendants being sent forward to the Circuit Court.
Counsel for both applicants secured leave from the High Court to bring judicial review proceedings aimed at overturning the decision of the District Court.
They will argue that the refusal in December last by the District Court to try the cases when it had earlier accepted jurisdiction was unfair and unlawful.
Counsel argued that no new information had come to light about the seriousness of the alleged offences between the decisions of October and December.
It is also claimed there was a failure by Judge Hughes to deal with each prosecution on its own merits and instead adopted a "blanket policy".
Mr Justice Simons said he was satisfied the applicants had made an arguable case for judicial review.
He also granted a stay on the District Court order pending the outcome of the judicial review.
