A case involving two brothers was struck out yesterday when one refused to testify against the other.
Alan Hutch (25) had been facing a charge of threatening his brother, Edward, and their mother, Jane, with a knife at the family home in Portland Place on June 18th, 2005.
The case had been due to be heard in August last year but did not go ahead because Edward failed to turn up in court. A warrant was eventually issued for his arrest and last May he told a judge he had been unable to attend court because he had injured himself after falling off a fourth-floor apartment, owned by his family, in Bulgaria.
He added, however, that he did not intend pursuing the complaint he made over the alleged knife incident because his brother was "high on drugs at the time" and in need of treatment.
Gardaí told the court there had been a history of family members making complaints against one another and refusing to follow them through when they came to court.
The judge said both Edward Hutch and his mother would have to come to court on a new hearing date and state whether they wanted the case to proceed.
Yesterday, Edward Hutch and his mother stood in Dublin District Court and confirmed a statement by the State Solicitor that they did not wish to give evidence in the case.
Judge Hugh O'Donnell struck out the charge, saying "what can I do?"
He heard a defence submission that recent efforts to deal with a long-standing drug problem would only be negated if Mr Hutch was sent to Mountjoy Prison. The judge remanded him in continuing custody in Cloverhill Prison, to appear in court again on September 26th.