Dr Mark Coen has been a Lecturer in Law at University College Dublin since 2014. Previously, he worked at Durham University, Dublin City University, Trinity College Dublin and Dublin Institute of Technology. Mark's main research interests are in contemporary and historical aspects of the jury system and the Law of Evidence.
This article examines a campaign of jury intimidation conducted by female Republicans in the Iris... more This article examines a campaign of jury intimidation conducted by female Republicans in the Irish Free State from 1926 to 1934. It discusses the rationale, logistics and key personalities of the campaign, as well as the policing, prosecutorial and legislative responses to it. The article demonstrates that a small number of women disrupted the administration of justice and generated a significant amount of publicity for their actions, not only in Ireland but also in the British press. In-depth consideration of this overlooked campaign brings issues of gender, state legitimacy, subversive activity and the vulnerability of the jury system into sharp relief.
Since 2019, Irish judicial education has been undergoing major structural change. Prior to the le... more Since 2019, Irish judicial education has been undergoing major structural change. Prior to the legislative establishment of the Judicial Council in that year, formal training for judges in Ireland was almost non-existent. Innovation in this area was limited to the holding of judicial conferences that occurred annually from the mid-1990s onwards. This paper places the training of Irish judges in its international context and analyses the reflections of 22 judges on how they learned the skills of judgecraft prior to the creation of a formalised system of judicial education and training. The data demonstrates that members of the judiciary engaged in a range of largely informal learning activities and provides insights into a hitherto unexplored aspect of Irish judicial culture. The data is also of broader significance in highlighting organic and unofficial aspects of judicial education, which can be overlooked in jurisdictions with highly-developed, formalised structures for training t...
This paper outlines and discusses a campaign of jury intimidation carried out by Republican women... more This paper outlines and discusses a campaign of jury intimidation carried out by Republican women in 1920s Ireland. The campaign provoked policing, prosecutorial and legislative responses from the fledgling Irish state.
This article analyses the law relating to the power of a trial judge to comment on the evidence i... more This article analyses the law relating to the power of a trial judge to comment on the evidence in a jury trial. Its main focus is the Rattigan decision, delivered by the Supreme Court in December 2017. The article argues that Rattigan has transformed the law so as to remove the ability of judges to comment on the facts. In order to assess the likely impact of the decision, the article contextualises it by examining the pre-existing law, and the rationales and controversies associated with the judicial discretion to comment. The article argues that Rattigan is to be welcomed as a reassertion of the independence of the jury in fact-finding, although it can be criticised on the basis that it appears to preclude comment in the future without acknowledging that this represents a dramatic shift in the law.
This article critiques the impact of the European Convention on Human Rights, as interpreted in t... more This article critiques the impact of the European Convention on Human Rights, as interpreted in the jurisprudence of the Strasbourg court, on the criminal trial jury. It argues that thus far the Convention has had a limited effect on jury trial, and that the Court tends to proceed with undue caution when confronted with issues affecting the key attributes of this mode of trial. It further argues that this caution may be influenced by non-legal considerations which should have no place in human rights adjudication.
This article considers the extent to which the exclusionary common law rules relating to hearsay ... more This article considers the extent to which the exclusionary common law rules relating to hearsay and bad character, which existed for hundreds of years in England and Wales and still apply in Ireland, were informed by distrust of jury capabilities. It will be demonstrated that the rationales for the radical reform of these rules in England and Wales were partly couched in terms of increased faith in juror competence. The exclusionary rules relating to hearsay and bad character in Ireland and the reformed English law, which is inclusionary in effect, will be analysed in light of empirical jury studies examining the ability of jurors to evaluate these two types of evidence. The capacity for different approaches to certain types of evidence to reflect varying conceptions of the jury and its perceived competence is a central theme of this article, as is the importance of testing juror performance empirically.
This article addresses the legal position of the lay employees of religious institutions such as ... more This article addresses the legal position of the lay employees of religious institutions such as schools and hospitals. The legal regimes governing 'ethos' in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Britain are compared. The tension which exists between the right of religious schools and hospitals to uphold their ethos in a secular society on the one hand, and the rights of their employees to privacy and personal autonomy on the other, is highlighted. It will be contended that legislative reform is required to remove uncertainty from the lives of lay employees of religious institutions who work conscientiously but fear dismissal or discrimination because an aspect of their lifestyle-usually their sexuality-is considered unorthodox by their employer. The need for a change in judicial attitudes and a lessening of deference towards the actions of religious denominations is also a theme throughout.
This article examines a campaign of jury intimidation conducted by female Republicans in the Iris... more This article examines a campaign of jury intimidation conducted by female Republicans in the Irish Free State from 1926 to 1934. It discusses the rationale, logistics and key personalities of the campaign, as well as the policing, prosecutorial and legislative responses to it. The article demonstrates that a small number of women disrupted the administration of justice and generated a significant amount of publicity for their actions, not only in Ireland but also in the British press. In-depth consideration of this overlooked campaign brings issues of gender, state legitimacy, subversive activity and the vulnerability of the jury system into sharp relief.
Since 2019, Irish judicial education has been undergoing major structural change. Prior to the le... more Since 2019, Irish judicial education has been undergoing major structural change. Prior to the legislative establishment of the Judicial Council in that year, formal training for judges in Ireland was almost non-existent. Innovation in this area was limited to the holding of judicial conferences that occurred annually from the mid-1990s onwards. This paper places the training of Irish judges in its international context and analyses the reflections of 22 judges on how they learned the skills of judgecraft prior to the creation of a formalised system of judicial education and training. The data demonstrates that members of the judiciary engaged in a range of largely informal learning activities and provides insights into a hitherto unexplored aspect of Irish judicial culture. The data is also of broader significance in highlighting organic and unofficial aspects of judicial education, which can be overlooked in jurisdictions with highly-developed, formalised structures for training t...
This paper outlines and discusses a campaign of jury intimidation carried out by Republican women... more This paper outlines and discusses a campaign of jury intimidation carried out by Republican women in 1920s Ireland. The campaign provoked policing, prosecutorial and legislative responses from the fledgling Irish state.
This article analyses the law relating to the power of a trial judge to comment on the evidence i... more This article analyses the law relating to the power of a trial judge to comment on the evidence in a jury trial. Its main focus is the Rattigan decision, delivered by the Supreme Court in December 2017. The article argues that Rattigan has transformed the law so as to remove the ability of judges to comment on the facts. In order to assess the likely impact of the decision, the article contextualises it by examining the pre-existing law, and the rationales and controversies associated with the judicial discretion to comment. The article argues that Rattigan is to be welcomed as a reassertion of the independence of the jury in fact-finding, although it can be criticised on the basis that it appears to preclude comment in the future without acknowledging that this represents a dramatic shift in the law.
This article critiques the impact of the European Convention on Human Rights, as interpreted in t... more This article critiques the impact of the European Convention on Human Rights, as interpreted in the jurisprudence of the Strasbourg court, on the criminal trial jury. It argues that thus far the Convention has had a limited effect on jury trial, and that the Court tends to proceed with undue caution when confronted with issues affecting the key attributes of this mode of trial. It further argues that this caution may be influenced by non-legal considerations which should have no place in human rights adjudication.
This article considers the extent to which the exclusionary common law rules relating to hearsay ... more This article considers the extent to which the exclusionary common law rules relating to hearsay and bad character, which existed for hundreds of years in England and Wales and still apply in Ireland, were informed by distrust of jury capabilities. It will be demonstrated that the rationales for the radical reform of these rules in England and Wales were partly couched in terms of increased faith in juror competence. The exclusionary rules relating to hearsay and bad character in Ireland and the reformed English law, which is inclusionary in effect, will be analysed in light of empirical jury studies examining the ability of jurors to evaluate these two types of evidence. The capacity for different approaches to certain types of evidence to reflect varying conceptions of the jury and its perceived competence is a central theme of this article, as is the importance of testing juror performance empirically.
This article addresses the legal position of the lay employees of religious institutions such as ... more This article addresses the legal position of the lay employees of religious institutions such as schools and hospitals. The legal regimes governing 'ethos' in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Britain are compared. The tension which exists between the right of religious schools and hospitals to uphold their ethos in a secular society on the one hand, and the rights of their employees to privacy and personal autonomy on the other, is highlighted. It will be contended that legislative reform is required to remove uncertainty from the lives of lay employees of religious institutions who work conscientiously but fear dismissal or discrimination because an aspect of their lifestyle-usually their sexuality-is considered unorthodox by their employer. The need for a change in judicial attitudes and a lessening of deference towards the actions of religious denominations is also a theme throughout.
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Papers by Mark Coen