Ireland’s District Court

Asks how the apparently significant presence of non-Irish people in the District Court - Ireland’s busiest court - has affected how these courts are run, and what happens when immigrants appear before the District court

Asks how the apparently significant presence of non-Irish people in the District Court - Ireland’s busiest court - has affected how these courts are run, and what happens when immigrants appear before the District court

For the uninitiated, the Irish District Court is a place of incomprehensible, organised chaos. This comprehensive account of the court’s criminal proceedings, based on an original study which involved observing hundreds of cases, aims to demystify the mayhem and provide the reader with descriptions of language, participant discourse and procedure in the typical criminal case. In addition, the book captures a recent and important change in the District Court: the advent of the immigrant or the Limited-English-proficient (LEP) defendant. It traces the rise of these defendants and explores the issues involved in ensuring access to justice across languages. It also provides an original description of LEP defendants and interpreters in District Court proceedings, ultimately considering how they have altered the institution and how the characteristics of the District Court affect how limited English proficient defendants access justice at this level of the Irish courts system.

IntroductionPART I: The Irish District Court: its role, function and day-to-day operation1. Introducing the District Court2. Barristers, bench warrants and bail bondsPART II: Immigration and the Irish District Court: changing context, new challenges3. LEP immigrants in Irish courtsPART III: Processing LEP defendants: bilingual cases in the Irish District Court4. Interpreting District Court proceedings for non-Irish defendants5. The case of the immigrant: dynamics and discourseConclusionBibliographyIndex