Breaking News
City rape trial adjourned due to jury problems
Galway Bay fm newsroom – The trial of a 40-year-old man who is charged with raping a schoolgirl in the city could not go ahead at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Galway today because only 15 people turned up for jury service.
Attempts were made by the court registrar to contact some people on the jury panel by phone but when this had failed by lunchtime, Mr Justice Barry White adjourned matters until tomorrow.
The judge apologised to the people who had turned up and blamed himself for misleading the jury panel which had turned out in great numbers last Tuesday for the trial of a Latvian man charged with the murder of another Latvian man.
He told the 15 people who turned up today that he should have simply instructed the rest of the jury panel to turn up today but at the time he discharged them on Tuesday of last week, he had believed the murder trial would still be going on this week.
As it happened, murder accused Sergejs Krause pleaded guilty last Thursday to a charge of manslaughter and the jury in that trial was discharged.
The judge apologised to the 15 people and asked them to attend court again tomorrow morning when it is hoped a jury will be empanelled to hear evidence in the rape trial.