LETTER TO EDITOR: A waste of court time?

Dear editor, I refer to an article in last week's Anglo Celt regarding a court case in which Judge Sean McBride insisted on writing down the evidence that took up many hours of court time. Recently, I attended a court sitting in Virginia and in a case in which a young man was applying for bail, Judge McBride insisted on personally transcribing every word, which took a total of three hours. This seemed to me to be a waste of court time and public money. Could the courts not have a young unemployed person with clerical skills who could transcribe for him in court? I counted eight gardaí, four solicitors, two prison officers, together with a large number of people, some of who were waiting for their cases to be heard. I must also refer to Judge McBride's attitude in court when a young solicitor stood up to address the court and the judge said: "How dare you speak to me with your hand in your pocket, I'll hold you in contempt of court." I was a teacher for over 40 years and never did I treat even the most delinquent of students in that way. I don't think I would have got away with it. I am giving my name and address but you better not publish them, as I may be before Judge MacBride sometime in the future! Sincerely, Name and address with editor