Brian Curtin
Encyclopedia
Brian Curtin is a former barrister
and Irish circuit court
judge
, who was tried for possessing images of child pornography
. After the case collapsed, the question of whether Curtin could continue as a judge became the focus of political and legal dispute. An impeachment
motion was launched in the Dáil in 2004 by Minister for Justice Michael McDowell
. Curtin resigned in 2006 on grounds of ill health, and the motion lapsed.
to south London
where Brian was born and raised, attending St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Putney Bridge Road, Wandsworth, as well as the Salesian College
, in Surrey Lane, Battersea. In the 1970s he attended Trinity College Dublin, and qualified from King's Inns
in 1976. As a barrister he worked on the Kerry Babies Tribunal
, and developed a high profile in Kerry.
Curtin married Miriam McGillicuddy, a solicitor
and later mayor of Tralee. They have one daughter, and separated
in c.1998. Curtin was involved in amateur drama, and presented a Sunday morning show on Radio Kerry
. He was politically active in Fianna Fáil
, and later the Progressive Democrats
, for which party stood unsuccessfully for election to Tralee Town Council.
Curtin was appointed to the Garda Complaints Appeals Board in May 2001; to the Refugee Appeals Tribunal in August 2001; and to the circuit court in November 2001. He heard cases on the Southwestern Circuit, encompassing his home county of Kerry.
launched Operation Amethyst
, a major investigation based on details received from Interpol
in August 2001 of Irish credit card
transactions made in 1999 to a child-pornography website
in Texas. The operation led to numerous arrests and convictions. Detectives executed a search warrant
on Curtin's private residence, seized his computer and reported finding 273 child pornographic images on the hard disk
. Curtin was charged in January 2003. Following delays due to the judge's ill-health, the trial took place in April 2004. At the trial, Curtin claimed that the search was illegal because it had taken place outside the limit of the 7-day warrant. The Gardaí claimed that the delay was due to Curtin's extended absence from his home and that when it took place at 2:20pm on 27 May 2002, it was still within the 7-day limit.
The trial judge ruled that the search was illegal. As a result the computer evidence found could not be used. Without that evidence Curtin was found not guilty, the judge declaring that the case was "crystal clear".
urged him to resign to prevent a constitutional crisis
.
In June 2004 Justice Minister McDowell moved an impeachment motion in the Dáil, saying Curtin was "unsuitable to exercise the office of a judge of the Circuit Court". This was an unprecedented move in Irish judicial history. The Irish constitutional judicial removal proceedings, commonly referred to as impeachment, had never previously been invoked. The Dáil suspended the motion and established a joint Oireachtas
select committee to examine the evidence. This inquiry was challenged by Judge Curtin in the courts. The challenges were unsuccessful and following a Supreme Court ruling in March 2006 upholding the process, the select committee took custody of the computer from the Gardaí and hired experts to examine it. Curtin suggested that malware
could have downloaded the pornographic images his computer without his knowledge. The process took longer than expected but they planned to issue a report to the Oireachtas in late 2006 to facilitate a debate and vote.
In November 2006, Judge Curtin resigned from the judiciary on health grounds, ending the investigation. This occurred days before he was to give evidence in private to the committee, and days after he had completed five years on the bench, the minimum sufficient to qualify for a pension.
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
and Irish circuit court
Courts of the Republic of Ireland
The Courts of the Republic of Ireland consist of the Supreme Court, the Court of Criminal Appeal, the High Court, the Circuit Court and the District Court. The courts apply the laws of Ireland. Ireland is a common law jurisdiction and trials for serious offences must usually be held before a jury...
judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
, who was tried for possessing images of child pornography
Child pornography
Child pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child...
. After the case collapsed, the question of whether Curtin could continue as a judge became the focus of political and legal dispute. An impeachment
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
motion was launched in the Dáil in 2004 by Minister for Justice Michael McDowell
Michael McDowell
Michael McDowell is a Senior Counsel in the Bar Council of Ireland and a former politician. A grandson of Irish revolutionary Eoin MacNeill, McDowell was a founding member of the Progressive Democrats political party in the mid-1980s...
. Curtin resigned in 2006 on grounds of ill health, and the motion lapsed.
Early life and career
Curtin is the only child of a builder and his wife, who had emigrated from near Tralee in county KerryCounty Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
to south London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
where Brian was born and raised, attending St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Putney Bridge Road, Wandsworth, as well as the Salesian College
Salesian College (London)
-History:Salesian College was a Roman Catholic, Voluntary Aided school for boys aged 11 to 16. It was founded in 1895 in Battersea, London by the religious order of the Salesians of Don Bosco, who arrived in Battersea in 1887 as part of Don Bosco's dream to establish a Salesian presence in Great...
, in Surrey Lane, Battersea. In the 1970s he attended Trinity College Dublin, and qualified from King's Inns
King's Inns
The Honorable Society of King's Inns , is the institution which controls the entry of barristers-at-law into the justice system of Ireland...
in 1976. As a barrister he worked on the Kerry Babies Tribunal
Kerry Babies Tribunal
The Kerry Babies case is an unsolved murder case dating from 1984 in Kerry, Ireland, that dominated the Irish headlines for some months during that year and resulted in a public Tribunal of Inquiry into the behaviour of the Garda Síochána during the investigation.On 14 April 1984, a newborn baby...
, and developed a high profile in Kerry.
Curtin married Miriam McGillicuddy, a solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
and later mayor of Tralee. They have one daughter, and separated
Legal separation
Legal separation is a legal process by which a married couple may formalize a de facto separation while remaining legally married. A legal separation is granted in the form of a court order, which can be in the form of a legally binding consent decree...
in c.1998. Curtin was involved in amateur drama, and presented a Sunday morning show on Radio Kerry
Radio Kerry
Radio Kerry is a full service, licensed radio station that operates from the franchise area of County Kerry in Southwest Ireland.Radio Kerry was established in 1989 and began broadcasting on July 14 1990. The station headquarters are in Tralee, the principal town of County Kerry, with remote...
. He was politically active in Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
, and later the Progressive Democrats
Progressive Democrats
The Progressive Democrats , commonly known as the PDs, was a pro-free market liberal political party in the Republic of Ireland.Launched on 21 December 1985 by Desmond O'Malley and other politicians who had split from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, the Progressive Democrats took liberal positions on...
, for which party stood unsuccessfully for election to Tralee Town Council.
Curtin was appointed to the Garda Complaints Appeals Board in May 2001; to the Refugee Appeals Tribunal in August 2001; and to the circuit court in November 2001. He heard cases on the Southwestern Circuit, encompassing his home county of Kerry.
Trial and acquittal
In May 2002, the Garda SíochánaGarda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...
launched Operation Amethyst
Operation Amethyst
Operation Amethyst was a Garda Síochána operation targeting child pornography in the Republic of Ireland. Involving simultaneous searches on May 25, 2002 of over a hundred individuals suspected of downloading child pornography, it was one of the largest police operations in Ireland's...
, a major investigation based on details received from Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
in August 2001 of Irish credit card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
transactions made in 1999 to a child-pornography website
Internet pornography
Internet pornography is pornography that is distributed by means of various sectors of the Internet, primarily via websites, peer-to-peer file sharing, or Usenet newsgroups...
in Texas. The operation led to numerous arrests and convictions. Detectives executed a search warrant
Search warrant
A search warrant is a court order issued by a Magistrate, judge or Supreme Court Official that authorizes law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person or location for evidence of a crime and to confiscate evidence if it is found....
on Curtin's private residence, seized his computer and reported finding 273 child pornographic images on the hard disk
Hard disk
A hard disk drive is a non-volatile, random access digital magnetic data storage device. It features rotating rigid platters on a motor-driven spindle within a protective enclosure. Data is magnetically read from and written to the platter by read/write heads that float on a film of air above the...
. Curtin was charged in January 2003. Following delays due to the judge's ill-health, the trial took place in April 2004. At the trial, Curtin claimed that the search was illegal because it had taken place outside the limit of the 7-day warrant. The Gardaí claimed that the delay was due to Curtin's extended absence from his home and that when it took place at 2:20pm on 27 May 2002, it was still within the 7-day limit.
The trial judge ruled that the search was illegal. As a result the computer evidence found could not be used. Without that evidence Curtin was found not guilty, the judge declaring that the case was "crystal clear".
Attempted impeachment
There was considerable public outcry in response to the acquittal. Online opinion polls showed little support for his continuing to serve on the bench. Curtin refused a Government request to step down, claiming that constitutionally he could only be removed for "stated misbehaviour". The Irish TimesThe Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
urged him to resign to prevent a constitutional crisis
Constitutional crisis
A constitutional crisis is a situation that the legal system's constitution or other basic principles of operation appear unable to resolve; it often results in a breakdown in the orderly operation of government...
.
In June 2004 Justice Minister McDowell moved an impeachment motion in the Dáil, saying Curtin was "unsuitable to exercise the office of a judge of the Circuit Court". This was an unprecedented move in Irish judicial history. The Irish constitutional judicial removal proceedings, commonly referred to as impeachment, had never previously been invoked. The Dáil suspended the motion and established a joint Oireachtas
Oireachtas
The Oireachtas , sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the "national parliament" or legislature of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:*The President of Ireland*The two Houses of the Oireachtas :**Dáil Éireann...
select committee to examine the evidence. This inquiry was challenged by Judge Curtin in the courts. The challenges were unsuccessful and following a Supreme Court ruling in March 2006 upholding the process, the select committee took custody of the computer from the Gardaí and hired experts to examine it. Curtin suggested that malware
Malware
Malware, short for malicious software, consists of programming that is designed to disrupt or deny operation, gather information that leads to loss of privacy or exploitation, or gain unauthorized access to system resources, or that otherwise exhibits abusive behavior...
could have downloaded the pornographic images his computer without his knowledge. The process took longer than expected but they planned to issue a report to the Oireachtas in late 2006 to facilitate a debate and vote.
In November 2006, Judge Curtin resigned from the judiciary on health grounds, ending the investigation. This occurred days before he was to give evidence in private to the committee, and days after he had completed five years on the bench, the minimum sufficient to qualify for a pension.