Judge bidding to resume criminal practice to have case heard in May

Barry White, 71, a retired judge of the Central Criminal Court, is challenging a Bar Council rule that would block him from practising in a court equal to or lower than the one over which he presided.

The case runs back to a decision by the chief justice in 1930, who said the readmission of judges to courts less or equal to that in which they were a judge would “shake the authority” of the courts.

Because of this, Mr White is only allowed to represent clients in the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeal.

The Bar Council has also refused to re-appoint him to the panel for a criminal legal aid scheme on which Mr White’s practice relied before becoming a judge.

Mr White has said his pension does not meet his nor his family’s needs, and he needs to return to practice out of “economic necessity”.

Mr Justice Max Barrett, sitting in the High Court in Dublin yesterday, acknowledged that there was disagreement over the precise scope of the action.

However, he said he believed the case could be heard in May and directed the exchange of documents with a view to achieving that.