'You don’t know the law': judge dismisses case but tells driver he'd no right to request garda supervisor
A driver who was approached by gardai had no entitlement to speak to their supervisor, a judge has said, reminding the defendant that: “You don’t know the law.”
However Derek McGee (41), who was convicted of obstructing a garda, has had his case dismissed under the Probation Act on appeal.
Mr McGee, with an address on North Circular Road, Phibsborough, was convicted in the District Court of obstructing a peace officer and was fined €350. He later lodged an appeal against his conviction.
A garda told the District Court Appeals Court that on July 16, 2021, he spoke to a driver who became aggressive, quoting legislation. He said that he seized the vehicle and that Mr McGee started to shout and roar.
He said that Mr McGee got so aggressive that he took the vehicle’s key out of the ignition for safety. He said that Mr McGee locked himself inside the vehicle and that he was eventually arrested.
The garda said that Mr McGee had stopped in the middle of the road himself and that he did not pull him over.
He said Mr McGee told gardai that they couldn’t stop him or conduct checks on his car.
Mr McGee took the stand, telling the court that the incident happened at around 1:50am. He said that the gardai were following him for about five minutes and that three members jumped out very quickly before he could finish parking.
He said that they started asking him questions. Mr McGee said that he asked why they had pulled him over and they replied that it was under the Road Traffic Act.
He said the gardai had no reasonable cause for stopping him, as he had not broken any road traffic laws.
Mr McGee said that the gardai got aggressive and took his keys. He said that he held the door and told them that he wanted to speak to their superior.
He said that his tax disk was roughly two days out of date but that he didn’t realise this until the gardai pulled him over.
Mr McGee said that he was entitled to speak to a garda supervisor under the Constitution.
He said that he wasn’t angry or aggressive and that the gardai did not have reasonable cause to stop him.
Judge Ronan Munro told the defendant that gardai do have powers to stop road users. He said he also understood that Mr McGee believed that he wasn’t doing anything wrong.
However, he said that the facts were proven in the case.
The garda told the court that Mr McGee has 14 previous convictions.
Judge Munro said the incident seemed like it was based on a misunderstanding of the law and that Mr McGee had no right to require a supervisor.
He told the defendant he understood that “you think you know the law”, but he added: “You don’t know the law.”
However, Judge Munro said that he would not impose a conviction and decided to dismiss the charge under section 1(1)(ii) of the Probation of Offenders Act, 1907, imposing a bond to keep the peace for a period of three years.
Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme
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