A judge yesterday apologised to a Mayo doctor for the professional embarrassment caused to him through media reporting of an order that he attend Dublin Circuit Criminal Court concerning a medical certificate.
Judge Cyril Kelly also directed that Dr Edward P. King, of Keel, Achill, be paid £200 expenses by a film lighting technician, James Maguire, whose failure to appear as a witness caused a fraud trial to be abandoned on November 11th.
A faxed copy of a medical certificate was shown on that occasion to Judge Kelly, who then issued a bench warrant for Mr Maguire's arrest and ordered Dr King to attend court to explain what the judge called "a certificate of a dubious nature".
Judge Kelly said he accepted Dr King's evidence that he was not told by Mr Maguire the certificate was to be used for non-attendance at a criminal trial. When Mr Maguire failed to appear on November 11th there was a jury panel of 300 in the court, as well as witnesses and others, who were all inconvenienced. Dr King said yesterday that as well as being professionally embarrassed by the media reports he had had the cost of travelling overnight from Mayo to Dublin for the hearing and had to get a colleague to return early from holiday to cover for him.
He said Mr Maguire attended his surgery complaining of pain from a back injury. He prescribed medication and rest. Mr Maguire said nothing about having to give evidence in court three days later.
Dr King said Mr Maguire asked him for a certificate for his works manager. He accepted Judge Kelly's view that the certificate he issued was not suitable to excuse Mr Maguire from giving evidence at the trial.
Judge Kelly apologised to Dr King for being embarrassed by the media reports and said that was not the court's intention. He would be happy to redress that in so far as he could.
Mr Declan Doyle, for Mr Maguire, said he apologised for his non-attendance on November 11th. He had not fully appreciated the seriousness of that, or the potential consequences, and rather naively thought it was sufficient to contact the Garda on the evening before the trial with the fax to say he was unfit to attend.
He said Mr Maguire had sustained the injury at his home. Although advised by his Dublin doctor to rest, he travelled to the Mayo film site to which he was contracted. He attended Dr King when his back became painful.
X-rays showed Mr Maguire had two fractures in the lower vertebrae. Mr Doyle said his client asked the court to accept there was "just excuse" under the Criminal Procedure Act for his non-appearance on November 11th. He had travelled from England on a previous occasion when the trial could not proceed because no court was available.
Det Garda Geraldine Noone, of the National Bureau of Fraud Investigation, said Mr Maguire was the principal witness in the case. His chequebook had been stolen in the post and the accused allegedly forged cheques from it to try to defraud banks.