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Deirdre Murphy (judge)

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Deirdre Murphy
Judge of the High Court
In office
3 April 2014 – 2 March 2023
Nominated byGovernment of Ireland
Appointed byMichael D. Higgins
Personal details
Born1953 (age 70–71)
NationalityIrish
Alma mater

Deirdre Murphy (born 1953[1]) is a retired Irish judge who served as a Judge of the High Court from 2014 to 2023.

Early life

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She was educated at St Patrick's College, Maynooth and Trinity College Dublin. She was the winner of the Irish Times Debate in 1976.[2] She subsequently attended the King's Inns.[1]

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She became a barrister in 1979 and a senior counsel in 1999.[1]

Her practice at the bar included acting for the defence and prosecuting on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions in criminal trials.[3][4] She also practiced in the areas of constitutional law and judicial review.[1] She represented the applicant in C(C) v Ireland who was successful in the Supreme Court in declaring part of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1935 unconstitutional.[5] The Act created strict liability with no defence of honest mistake to unlawful carnal knowledge. The outcome of the case led to the immediate introduction of two new offences to replace the unconstitutional section.[6]

Her work for the state included serving on the legal team for the Cloyne Report between 2009 and 2010 and prosecuting actions in the Special Criminal Court.[7][8]

She has been a long time advocate of the model litigant (MLO).[9]

Judicial career

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Murphy was appointed to the High Court in April 2014.[10] She currently serves on the Superior Courts Rules Committee.[11]

She has heard cases including those involving aspects of criminal law,[12] judicial review,[13] company law,[14] employment law,[15] and repossessions.[16] She regularly presides over homicide and sexual offences cases.[17][18][19]

In April 2020, Murphy was the presiding judge in a for mention hearing of a judicial review case taken by John Waters and Gemma O'Doherty against legislation enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[20] She dismissed an application by the plaintiffs to permit some of the "up to 100 people" who had gathered inside the Four Courts to enter the hearing on account of social distancing measures.[21]

She retired in March 2023.[22]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Appointments to the High Court". merrionstreet.ie. Archived from the original on 30 June 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  2. ^ "Past champions of the Irish Times debate". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  3. ^ "Man acquitted of IRA membership in Garda hotel surveillance trial". The Irish Times. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  4. ^ "Sentences for killing of teacher increased". The Irish Times. 26 June 2012.
  5. ^ "The Irish Times Law Report". The Irish Times. 3 July 2006. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  6. ^ O'Malley, Tom. "Paper by Mr. Tom O'Malley" (PDF). Citizen's Assembly. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 September 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Cloyne Diocese Report" (PDF). Department of Justice and Equality. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 December 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  8. ^ "Firearms trial adjourned". www.irishexaminer.com. 3 June 2005. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  9. ^ "Justice Deirdre Murphy on a broken legal system". irishtimes.com. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  10. ^ "President appoints Mr. Bernard Joseph Barton S.C." president.ie. Archived from the original on 30 June 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  11. ^ "Rules Of The Superior Courts (Order 61A) 2019". Irish Statute Book. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  12. ^ "Supreme Court: Trial judge intervened in prosecutorial role of the DPP by ordering stay". Irish Legal News. 23 July 2018. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  13. ^ "Solicitor fails in High Court challenge to planning board ruling". www.irishexaminer.com. 7 December 2018. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  14. ^ "Court hears realisable assets at liquidated company 'vanished without plausible explanation'". Breaking News. 28 January 2019. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  15. ^ Consultants, E. S. A. "Janitor awarded €64k claims he had to work '19 twelve-hour shifts in a row', court hears". ESA Consultants. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  16. ^ Carolan, Mary. "Man fails in 'incredible' €500,000 claim over repossessed house". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 12 January 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  17. ^ "Six jailed over death of Dale Creighton". RTÉ News. 16 January 2017. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  18. ^ "'Mum protected evil, coward dad who raped me - it's unbearable'". Independent.ie. 6 November 2018. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  19. ^ "Closing speeches in teenager's rape trial". www.donegaldemocrat.ie. 19 July 2018. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  20. ^ "State to oppose challenge against Covid-19 laws". RTÉ News. 21 April 2020. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  21. ^ Duffy, Rónán (21 April 2020). "Courts Service 'disappointed and appalled' at large crowd that turned out at Four Courts". TheJournal.ie. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  22. ^ "Appointments to the High Court and the Circuit Court". www.gov.ie. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.