A JURY WILL restart deliberations on Monday morning in the case of four serving gardaí and a retired Superintendent accused of perverting the course of justice after an eight week trial.

The eight men and four women began their deliberations at 2pm today. 

The case centres around the terminating of road traffic tickets after requests by members of the public to gardaí to not issue fines.

It follows an investigation by the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI) into the practice of stopping tickets for speeding, mobile phones and other offences from being issued.

The gardaí were all based in the mid-west, particularly in Limerick garda division.
The accused are: retired Garda Superintendent Eamon O’Neill, who served across the division but was the lead officer in Newcastlewest; Limerick based Sgt Michelle Leahy; Sgt Anne-Marie Hassett, who formerly served in Limerick city; Garda Tom McGlinchey, Murroe Garda Station; and Garda Colm Geary, Clare Garda Division. All pleaded not guilty.

The five are accused with perverting the course of public justice in relation to the cancelling of fixed charge penalty notice. Leahy is accused of the offence in connection to striking out a summons while in court.

Mr Justice Roderick Maguire was handed a note from the jury at 4.15pm today in which they requested to go home for the weekend and restart their deliberations on Monday morning. 

The trial centres almost entirely around the argument by the defence that the gardaí involved were using their power of discretion to cancel the offences. The State alleges that they had no power to do this and had committed an offence.  

Earlier counsel for the accused completed their closing remarks to the jury. 

John Byrne SC, for McGlinchey, questioned why no motorists who committed the traffic offences and allegedly contacted O’Neill to have the tickets cancelled had been prosecuted. 

Byrne said that his client was merely passing on a request to the gardaí involved from the then Superintendent Eamon O’Neill. 

Andrew Sexton, SC, for Michelle Leahy, described his client as a “kindling stick on the funeral pyre” and had only acted after receiving a request from O’Neill via her colleague McGlinchey.

Jim O’Mahony, SC, for Anne Marie Hassett, asked the jury could they “honestly convict” her for texting a colleague for merely asking for the name of a garda.

He asked why former Chief Superintendent John Scanlon was not before the court despite being questioned as a suspect by the NBCI. 

The court previously heard that Scanlon, who was then in charge of Laois-Offaly garda division, had been identified by NBCI as suspect and needed to be questioned. 

On 4 December last, the court heard that an Assistant Commissioner and Chief Superintendent had questioned Scanlon as part of the investigation in respect to the alleged cancelling of two road traffic summonses.

Retired Detective Chief Superintendent Walter O’Sullivan, gave evidence that he and Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll, now deceased, interviewed Chief Supt Scanlon, who he said was considered “a suspect” at the time.

The interview, which lasted 23 minutes, took place by appointment at the offices of the GNBCI, Harcourt Square, Dublin.

O’Mahony said told the jury today: “This whole thing is using a sledge hammer to crack a nut and should have been dealt within [internal garda] discipline.”