'Judge asks if adversarial legal system ‘fit for purpose’ when dealing with serious crime cases involving children'
- miriamdelahunt
- Apr 18, 2024
- 1 min read
Limited sentencing options for those turning 18 during the criminal process creates ‘unfairness’, judge says
Mary Carolan
Irish Times, Tuesday, 16th April 2024
'The senior judge managing the Central Criminal Court has asked whether the State’s adversarial legal system is “fit for purpose” in dealing with children who are victims of, or accused of, serious crimes.
Mr Justice Paul McDermott said an increasing number of “awful” cases coming before the Central Criminal Court (CCC) involve children and vulnerable witnesses, including people with intellectual disabilities, being “shoehorned” into an adversarial system designed for adults.
There have been some improvements, including a “sea change” in how children and vulnerable witnesses are cross-examined, but he said he would invite people to consider whether the adversarial system is “fit for purpose” for children and vulnerable witnesses.'
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