Attorney General penalises Clarke
The Fianna Fail Attorney General has refused to provide adequate
legal aid for Jim Clarke to contest the British request for his
extradition. The Portlaoise District Court hearing on the
warrants for the Donegal man ended abruptly when his legal team
announced that the necessary legal fees were not being paid by
the state. Clarke's solicitor and barrister withdrew and the case
had to be adjourned.
This unexpected twist in the case came on Monday last when it was
expected that there would be a full hearing on the RUC
extradition warrants in Portlaoise District Court. Before it
began, Patrick Gageby, counsel for Clarke, applied to the judge
for an order to strike out the extradition warrants or to stay
their operation on the grounds that the Attorney General had
refused to provide a proper professional fee for his client. He
explained that Clarke had already been in custody for a week
solely on extradition warrants which the state, through the
Assistant Garda Commissioner, had brought into being.
Gageby said that the refusal to pay proper fees amounted to an
attack on the constitutional rights of those who do not have
sufficient resources while the state is well provided for. ``Where
such imbalance exists it is inequitable that these proceedings go
ahead,'' he concluded.
Just ten minutes before the hearing, Clarke's solicitor Ann
Rowland had recieved a letter from the Attorney General, John
Murray, turning down her request for adequate fees. Defendants in
extradition cases are not covered by the ordinary free legal aid
scheme. They must apply to the Attorney General - the highest
legal office in the 26 county state and a member of the Cabinet -
for costs from a special fund. Solicitors' fees and expenses in
extradition cases can be up to £1,000 per day but the Attorney
General would only provide £75.
Phoblacht 29 September 1988
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