LAST UPDATE | 15 Apr
BARRISTER SIMEON BURKE has had his conviction for a “volatile” breach of the peace following a “melee” at his brother Enoch’s case in the Four Courts in Dublin last year struck out after a judge found there was insufficient evidence he had committed a criminal offence.
Burke had argued that gardaí took an “overzealous and panicked approach” to the incident and submitted that at the time he was removed from court by officers, there was no order in place to do so.
At an appeal against his District Court conviction today, Judge John Martin said he was not convinced that Simeon Burke’s “unbecoming” behaviour met the threshold for a public order offence.
Burke (25), who was called to the Bar last October, had denied the charge before Judge John Hughes at Dublin District Court in July of last year but was convicted and fined €300 for a public order offence that occurred on 7 March 2023, on or about the Four Courts, Inns Quay, in Dublin.
Burke was convicted under Section 6 of the Public Order Act which states it is an “offence for any person in a public place to use or engage in any threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to provoke a breach of the peace or being reckless as to whether a breach of the peace may be occasioned”.
At the District Court Appeals Court before Judge Martin today, Simeon Burke, with an address at Cloonsunna, Castlebar, Co Mayo, had his appeal allowed and conviction quashed.
Judge Martin said that the threshold for Burke, who was representing himself, to be convicted of the breach of the peace offence had to be “beyond a reasonable doubt” as it was a criminal matter.
Judge Martin said he did not feel that the Garda witnesses in the case had proved the “requisite standard” for Burke’s behaviour to attract a criminal conviction.
“I have heard evidence that he strongly resisted [gardaí] and was obstructing them and was crying terms concerning transgenderism and that gardaí should deploy their resources to other parts of the city,” said Judge Martin.
“Does it reach the criminal standard? I am afraid it doesn’t and I am allowing the appeal,” said Judge Martin.
Burke had been in attendance at the Four Courts where his brother Enoch was involved in a legal dispute before the Court of Appeal with Wilson’s Hospital School in Co Westmeath.
Simeon Burke’s contested District Court hearing featured CCTV evidence from the Four Courts, but not from inside the courtroom where the incident started before it spilled out to the yard where Burke was dragged by three gardaí to the front of the building and onto Inns Quay before being arrested.
At the appeal hearing today audio recordings were played to the court of the incident where members of the Burke family attended Enoch Burke’s failed appeal to have an injunction against him attending the school lifted.
Garda Michael McGrath told DPP solicitor Paul Bond that the Four Courts courtroom was “very full” and that it included a student group and a large media presence. He said that about 40 minutes into the hearing, Burke’s sister Ammi started to interrupt the court.
Garda McGrath said other members of the family started to shout as well and the three judges rose.
“I couldn’t distinguish it but there was a barrage of noise,” said Garda McGrath.
Garda McGrath said he requested colleagues to attend and assist in removing Ammi and her mother Martina Burke on the direction of the court and went into the yard to explain to them what was happening inside the courtroom.
Garda McGrath said that “after a minute” he returned to the courtroom where the judges had resumed delivering judgement and that within seconds members of the Burke family started shouting at the court again.
“The judges rose again and I called colleagues from the adjacent courtroom to assist in removing Ammi Burke and she became obstructive,” said Garda McGrath.
Garda McGrath said the Burke family members present were “obstructive and gripping furniture, holding on to each other and the furniture to obstruct us”.
“He [Simeon] obstructed to the maximum of his ability. I continually asked him to leave,” said Garda McGrath.
Questioning Garda McGrath, Simeon Burke submitted that while the witness was outside of the court, the judges had reversed a direction by the court to remove Ammi and Martina Burke, who remained in the courtroom.
Burke said that President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham had initially ordered the removal of any person interrupting proceedings but when the hearing resumed the judge said the court would “simply rise” should there be any other interruptions and that the judgement would then be delivered electronically.
Burke said that the change in the direction of proceedings occurred when Garda McGrath and other gardaí were outside and that when the guard returned inside the court he tried “mistakenly” to remove the appellant, Burke.
“Did it not strike you as strange that the judges returned to give judgement after rising, even though nobody had been removed?” asked Burke. “I don’t think it struck me as anything,” said Garda McGrath.
Burke said that the judges had risen for the day to later deliver the verdict electronically and that members of the public were leaving because the court’s business was finished for the day.
Burke said that Garda McGrath had approached Burke to remove him without explanation and had ripped his shirt, a situation at which Burke said he was “shocked”.
“I used force. I didn’t take any note of clothing and what happened to it. I had to remove yourself and you were obstructing that,” said Garda McGrath.
“You were highly aggressive and obstructive by grabbing furniture and family members, and putting your feet on to the door frame and wall,” said the guard.
Burke put it to Garda McGrath that he had made “a fundamental error in beginning to remove people from the courtroom”.
“And that after the first interruption you left to go into the yard and while you were gone the judges returned and when they came back, they reversed the previous order and laid out a different direction as to how the hearing would proceed, which was in stark contrast with what previously occurred.
“They were now going to proceed without removing anyone from the courtroom and you now know that’s what the transcript says,” said Burke.
“That may be the case but the behaviour in the court was still unsettled and gardaí were duty-bound to act,” said Garda McGrath.
“The judge said that they would ‘simply rise’ and the judgements would be delivered electronically and you were not there,” said Burke.
“The behaviour necessitated intervention of gardaí regardless of the judge’s order,” said Garda McGrath, who added that “the situation was out of control”.
Garda Thomas Byrne said he could hear screaming inside the court and that he went inside. “Simeon and the whole lot of them acted as one. There was a lot of members of the public there. There was alarm and distress to the public,” he said.
Burke said that Garda Byrne had not included in his statement that Burke was refusing to be removed or that he was screaming.
Burke put it to Garda Byrne that he was not being aggressive but had been protesting his removal.
Garda Byrne said Burke had been “totally aggressive” and that it had taken three gardaí to remove him from the bench Mr Burke was clinging to.
Garda Conor O’Dwyer said he had tried to reason with Burke and when the appellant refused to leave, Burke had “kicked out” at him. Garda O’Dwyer said that such was the resistance Burke had employed that it caused the garda to fall, hitting his head on the ground as he did so.
“His behaviour was appalling,” said Garda O’Dwyer.
Burke, who denied kicking out, said that the allegation of him kicking out at the Garda occurred at a location where there was no CCTV.
“You kicked me. You did. You were aggressive,” said Garda O’Dwyer.
Addressing Judge Martin, Burke said his case “should be dismissed as the accused [Burke] has no case to answer”.
Burke said that Mr Justice Birmingham had reversed any direction to remove anyone from the court by saying that if there were to be repeated interruptions then the court “will simply rise” and deliver the judgement electronically.
Burke submitted that the Supreme Court has commented that when removing a person from the court, that person should be given an explanation as to why they might be removed and given an opportunity to explain or give their reply, which had not occurred in his case.
Burke said that gardaí needed a judicial order to remove anyone from a court and that this had not been the case as he submitted Mr Justice Birmingham said the court would “simply rise” should the court be interrupted.
“There was no order that any person be removed,” said Burke, who claimed gardaí took an “overzealous and panicked approach to the situation”.
Judge Martin found that the “unbecoming behaviour” central to the charge against Burke did not meet the threshold for a criminal offence for breach of the peace and allowed the appeal.
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