6 August 1998 Edition
Friends in high places
By Eoghan Mac Cormaic
Three court cases here and in Britain in the last week show that justice is still based on privilege. At Charlie Haughey's indictment this week, the judge ordered that Haughey `be allowed to leave the court with dignity'. The very use of the words shows a recognition of privilege. It was a remarkable thing to say. Courts don't often express such sentiments for defendants' `dignity', as hordes of photographers outside the Four Courts on most days of the week testify.
Less fortunate than CJ was Peter Bentley. Cleared this week of murdering a policeman the verdict came forty five years too late. In 1953 Bentley, a mentally handicapped, working class, underprivileged and unprivileged victim of British justice was hanged. No judge ever thought to see Peter Bentley out of court `with his dignity'. Not for forty five years, at least.
Bentley's case was a long time for justice to be miscarried, but the third case this week left me impressed by the swift response of the British judiciary to the plight of a young Irish woman, wrongly imprisoned and held in one of their less salubrious prisons. The fact that the bail set for Elaine Moore was enormous, the fact that it took two weeks to achieve it, the fact that a judge who had already refused her bail had spoken of her idealism and altruism (!) aside, Ms Moore should note that being Irish and managing to gain bail in an English court and avoid years of campaigning for justice is no mean feat.
Of course granting bail to the young woman should be only the first step in releasing her. The next and last step should be for her full release. Now I don't want to join the assembled bandwagon of Fine Gaelers calling for justice, but I think they too should be commended for their speedy intervention, and generous posting of bonds to secure bail. The phone lines between Peter Barry and Mary Banotti were fairly hopping, by all accounts, as Peter checked if this was a safe case to become involved in. It's a pity that the Blueshirts haven't always been so rapid in responding to calls for help from Irish people inside British prison cells, people who had no friends in high places and who were often treated as guilty by Fine Gaelers long before and for years after any trial took place. Justice is a very individual thing.
Elaine Moore may not realise yet how lucky she is to have privileged friends. She - and those very friends - might never realise how unfair it is that there are privileged people and unprivileged people in our society and in British society. Elaine could have become another cause celebrée, joining the Róisíns, Ellas, Martinas, Annies, Gillespies, Prices.. and in five or ten or fifteen years, Peter and Mary could have shuffled into view to offer a bit of belated support.
We don't choose our parents, which is lucky for some. Being the mother of an unsuccessful local government election candidate for Fine Gael has more of a ring to it than being the daughter of a former Independent and republican MP. Elaine was lucky. She had the fast track; privileged people knew her, and privileged people helped her and a `justice' system known for its bias, and anti-Irish hostility but also known for its admiration of privilege, listened as the privileged people spoke; and duly granted her bail.
I wonder will Mary Banotti and Peter Barry, and the others who spoke up for Elaine Moore - only on account of her background, only indeed, when they were sure of her background - see the injustice in all of that?
Three court cases here and in Britain in the last week show that justice is still based on privilege. At Charlie Haughey's indictment this week, the judge ordered that Haughey `be allowed to leave the court with dignity'. The very use of the words shows a recognition of privilege. It was a remarkable thing to say. Courts don't often express such sentiments for defendants' `dignity', as hordes of photographers outside the Four Courts on most days of the week testify.
Less fortunate than CJ was Peter Bentley. Cleared this week of murdering a policeman the verdict came forty five years too late. In 1953 Bentley, a mentally handicapped, working class, underprivileged and unprivileged victim of British justice was hanged. No judge ever thought to see Peter Bentley out of court `with his dignity'. Not for forty five years, at least.
Bentley's case was a long time for justice to be miscarried, but the third case this week left me impressed by the swift response of the British judiciary to the plight of a young Irish woman, wrongly imprisoned and held in one of their less salubrious prisons. The fact that the bail set for Elaine Moore was enormous, the fact that it took two weeks to achieve it, the fact that a judge who had already refused her bail had spoken of her idealism and altruism (!) aside, Ms Moore should note that being Irish and managing to gain bail in an English court and avoid years of campaigning for justice is no mean feat.
Of course granting bail to the young woman should be only the first step in releasing her. The next and last step should be for her full release. Now I don't want to join the assembled bandwagon of Fine Gaelers calling for justice, but I think they too should be commended for their speedy intervention, and generous posting of bonds to secure bail. The phone lines between Peter Barry and Mary Banotti were fairly hopping, by all accounts, as Peter checked if this was a safe case to become involved in. It's a pity that the Blueshirts haven't always been so rapid in responding to calls for help from Irish people inside British prison cells, people who had no friends in high places and who were often treated as guilty by Fine Gaelers long before and for years after any trial took place. Justice is a very individual thing.
Elaine Moore may not realise yet how lucky she is to have privileged friends. She - and those very friends - might never realise how unfair it is that there are privileged people and unprivileged people in our society and in British society. Elaine could have become another cause celebrée, joining the Róisíns, Ellas, Martinas, Annies, Gillespies, Prices.. and in five or ten or fifteen years, Peter and Mary could have shuffled into view to offer a bit of belated support.
We don't choose our parents, which is lucky for some. Being the mother of an unsuccessful local government election candidate for Fine Gael has more of a ring to it than being the daughter of a former Independent and republican MP. Elaine was lucky. She had the fast track; privileged people knew her, and privileged people helped her and a `justice' system known for its bias, and anti-Irish hostility but also known for its admiration of privilege, listened as the privileged people spoke; and duly granted her bail.
I wonder will Mary Banotti and Peter Barry, and the others who spoke up for Elaine Moore - only on account of her background, only indeed, when they were sure of her background - see the injustice in all of that?