St. Patrick – the Lawmaker of Ireland?
At the time of St Patrick’s arrival in Ireland, early Irish law was guided entirely by an oral tradition. One widely held theory, which was strongly promoted by Christian clerics in medieval times, was that after a particularly difficult law case involving our patron saint, St. Patrick himself supervised the mixing of native Irish law and the law of the church.
To do this, a representative of every group came from all over Ireland and recited to St Patrick and his fellows the oral law related to that group. These included the complex and extremely important laws of inheritance.
Under the direction of the saint these oral laws were then written down and collected into a great body of legal manuscripts called the Senchas Már. It appears that any oral law which conflicted with the law of the church was replaced by the saintly man himself.
Whatever about the historical accuracy of this theory, it is known that at the time of St. Patrick, strict inheritance laws applied to Irish society whereby each of the sons of a diseased person would receive equal portions of their father’s estate.
Early Irish law typically did not distinguish between “legitimate” and “illegitimate” children, so all recognised sons would receive their equal share. However, disobedient sons were automatically excluded. In addition, adopted sons could receive a portion of kin land although the amount they could inherit would have to be explicitly stipulated.
The division of land is somewhat obscure. One suggestion is that it was left to the youngest son divide the land into equal parts. The eldest chose first, followed by the second and so on until the youngest received the remaining land. This was intended so that the division of land would be made equally.
More rarely, a father might divide the land for his sons in his lifetime.
While a daughter, if she had brothers, would not normally receive a portion of the inheritance in land, she would inherit movable property. However, should there be no sons, some of the law tracts allowed the daughter to inherit a limited portion. If this happened, there was strong pressure for a woman with land to marry a relative to keep the land within the kin group.
Following the Norman invasion, areas under Anglo-Norman control were subject to English law and gradually, as the years went by, the oral laws, or the Brehon Laws as they are called, disappeared from Ireland to be replaced by modern law, including today’s law of inheritance.
In today’s modern society, we all own something, be it property, car, or whatever and we all want to care for our loved ones after our death. Don’t rely on oral tradition to ensure that your wishes are carried out, make a will.
Making a will gives legal status as to what you intend to do with your assets or possessions. A will can be straightforward, but more often than not, it can be more complicated than you realise.
P.W. Tracey Solicitors can help you to draw up a Will. The complexity of your estate will determine the cost. However the average cost of the most common wills is €200 + VAT.
Before you make an appointment to have you will drawn up it is a good idea to list the questions you would like answered as well as your instructions regarding your money and possessions. You should also decide how you want your estate divided, as well as your choice of executors and funeral arrangements.
Top Ten Legal movies- comment
Court Reporter SchoolsSearch 100+ court reporting schools
Featured Online Court Reporting Schools
Colorado Technical University
Online Program
America’s top online court reporting school.
Court Reporting Institute of Dallas – Online Program
One of the top court reporting schools offers a 100% online degree via its Dallas campus. Associate and Bachelors available.
Court Reporter School Finder
About Court Reporter Schools
Court Reporter Schools covers online court reporter school info, court reporter colleges, court reporter programs online, salary, career information and how to become a court reporter.
Top 10 Courtroom Movies of All Time
Courtroom movies hold a special ability to provide mystery, suspense, and a good story that almost always reaches a neatly packaged conclusion, making this genre of movies appealing to a wide variety of audiences. Check out these movie recaps (including plot spoilers!) that span the entire 20th century, with black and white dramas, more modern dramas, and even a comedy and a documentary in the list. While it might not substitute for your training to become a court reporter, it certainly can’t hurt to spend some time watching these courtroom movies to understand the history and popular culture surrounding your chosen field of study.
1.The Paradine Case (1947). Alfred Hitchcock directed this film that stars Gregory Peck as a barrister hired to defend Mrs. Paradine when she is accused of killing her wealthy, older husband. The barrister, happily married, begins to fall for the alluring Mrs. Paradine as he gets deeper into the case. The trial focuses on whether Mrs. Paradine or Mr. Paradine’s valet killed the man. During a particularly rough line of questioning by the barrister, the valet confesses to an affair with Mrs. Paradine. He leaves the courtroom and later kills himself. Upon learning of the death, Mrs. Paradine confesses to killing her husband, her love for the valet, and her hatred for the barrister, who she feels killed her lover. The barrister must then come to terms with how he handled the case and himself.
2.12 Angry Men (1957). A teenage boy is put on trial for killing his father. When the twelve men on the jury begin deliberation, what initially seemed an easy guilty verdict suddenly becomes much more complex when one juror (played by Henry Fonda) asks the other jurors to look closely at the facts of the trial. What results is a study in humanity as each of the jurors faces his own prejudices, emotions, and histories in a search for the truth.
3.Witness for the Prosecution (1958). This stunning movie was adapted from a play written by the master mystery writer, Agatha Christie. Tyrone Power and Marlene Dietrich play Leonard and Christine Vole. Leonard is accused of killing a rich woman who left him a substantial amount of money. Leonard’s trial is full of twists and turns as his attorney fights to clear his name. When it appears that Christine has set Leonard up for murder and Leonard is cleared, the plot twists again.
4.Judgment at Nuremberg (1961). Based on a real trial that took place in 1947, this powerful movie stars Spencer Tracy as an American judge determined to understand the truth at the heart of the case that has four German judges accused of human atrocities under the Nazi regime. Tracy’s search for the truth reveals heartache and emotional blindness. Eventually the truth is revealed when one of the judges on trial describes the reasons he and so many others followed along with such horrific acts. When this movie was released in 1961, all four judges on whom the movie was based were already released from prison.
5.To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). Based on the novel by Harper Lee, Gregory Peck stars as an attorney in a small southern town who is selected to defend a black man accused of raping a white woman. The story is told through the attorney’s young daughter, Scout. The trial and the events leading up to the trial depict both the rampant racism in the town as well as the beauty of humanity glimpsed between the other. While the trial does not end with justice being served, the movie ends with hope for the future as seen through Scout.
6.The Verdict (1982). Paul Newman plays a lawyer who has turned to alcohol and shunned his career after his attempt to uphold justice was turned against him and he lost his partnership in a successful firm. A friend throws an easy medical malpractice case to him that is sure to settle out of court. When Newman’s character looks over the case, however, he feels it should go to trial. What follows is a study of the lawyer’s rebuilding his life and career in the face of both obstacles and infidelity as he wins the case for the family of a young mother left in a vegetative state.
7.A Few Good Men (1992). Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, and Demi Moore star in this movie directed by Rob Reiner. Cruise plays an inexperienced lawyer for the Marines who defends two Marines accused of murdering a fellow Marine. The court case uncovers intense hazing that occurred under orders of the commanding officer and pits the green lawyer against a seasoned Colonel who verbally spar over what it means to have honor and to be a Marine. The lawyer wins the case, but the two he was defending are dishonorably discharged.
8.My Cousin Vinny (1992). In a genre heavy with drama, this movie stands out as being both an excellent courtroom movie that is also a comedy. When two young men are accused of a murder they did not commit as they were passing through a small southern town, they hire the only lawyer they know and can afford–a cousin from Brooklyn who has only been a lawyer for a few weeks. The neophyte lawyer with his Brooklyn ways learns important lessons in courtroom etiquette as he bumbles his way through in a veteran judge’s well-oiled courtroom, culminating in the acquittal of the two young men.
9.Philadelphia (1993). Based on a true story of the first AIDS discrimination case taken to court, Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington star in this movie that tells the story of an important lawyer at the largest law firm in Philadelphia who is fired from his position when it is discovered that he has AIDS. When the lawyer can find no one to represent him against the firm, he begins preparation to defend himself. A homophobic lawyer steps up to take the case and the two men take on and win the discrimination suit.
10.Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996). The only documentary in this list, this movie details the trial of three teenage boys in Arkansas who are accused of killing three 8 year-olds. With real courtroom footage and interviews with suspects and others involved in the case, this movie documents a trial that even after its conclusion left many wondering about the effectiveness of the judicial system.
Court Reporter School | Wikipedia | Google Search | ©2009 Court Reporter Schools.
——————————————————————————–
Cyclists in Dublin facts & figures on accidents
An eye opening report prepared by Dublin City Council from Garda statistics last year on cycling accidents throws up some revealing statistics on accidents involving cyclists.
There were approximately 427 collisions involving cyclists reported to the Garda in Dublin city over the period (2002 to 2006), 11 of which involved fatalities.
11 Fatalities
8 of these deaths were of cyclists killed by left-turning Lorries.
1 involved a vehicle hitting a cyclist when changing lanes
1 a vehicle rear-ended the cyclist
1 was caused by a stolen vehicle driving head on into a cyclist.
Cars involved in 70% of cyclist accidents
- Almost 70 per cent off all cycle collisions involved cars.
- Left-turning vehicles were involved the majority of fatalities,
- The most common collision involved right-turning cars. These accounted for just fewer than 20 per cent of incidents.
- The next most common type is classified as “side swipes”, accounting for 15 per cent of collisions. These occur where a vehicle overtaking a cyclist or changing lanes hits the bicycle.
- Door opening accidents accounted for about 14 per cent of incidents
- Left-turning vehicles hitting cyclists accounted for just over 12 per cent.
Crashes where the fault is more likely to be attributable to the cyclist accounted for a much smaller proportion of incidents. In just over 4 per cent a cyclist hit a pedestrian, while in fewer than 3 per cent of collisions a cyclist turned right into on-coming traffic.
The more serious a crash, the more likely it was to involve a vehicle turning left, according to the report.
While 73 per cent of fatalities were at a left turn (all involving HGVs) almost one-third resulting in serious injury to the cyclist involved a left-turning vehicle.
November the most dangerous month to cycle in Dublin?
The report also found that November was the worst month for collisions
Cyclists between the ages of 20 and 29 were the most likely to be involved in incidents
The traffic department is to put recommendations to city councilors tomorrow. Chief among these is a recommendation that Cyclops mirrors be fitted to HGVs so they can better see cyclists on their left. The report found that in the majority of left-turning collisions the HGV driver did not see the cyclist.
It also recommends that all cycle lanes be inspected annually.
Several collisions occurred when cyclists were forced to move out of the lane to avoid potholes or sunken gullies.
Top four types of cycle accidents
- Drivers turning right in front of an oncoming bicycle.
- Drivers hitting a bicycle when overtaking or changing lanes.
- Car doors being opened in front of cyclists.
- Drivers hitting cyclists when turning left.
Recommendations
- Segregation of bicycles and HGVs where possible.
- Awareness campaign on the danger of left-turning HGVs.
- Upgrade of cycle lanes to remove potholes, sunken gullies and poor surfaces.
- Enforcement of legislation regarding the use of bicycle lights.
- Encourage more cycling to produce a “safety in numbers” effect.
- Provide additional cycling infrastructure on a “most used routes” priority basis.
- “Cyclops” mirrors made compulsory on all HGVs.
Cosmetic Surgery- misconduct allegations
Cosmetic Surgery- misconduct allegations
An Italian Plastic surgeon has been told he should attend before a medical council fitness to practice enquiry next week to conclude enquiries it is conducting following a breast augmentation procedure.
The case involves allegations that the doctor performed surgery on a patient at the Advanced Cosmetic Surgery clinic in Dublin in October 2006, when it is alleged he knew that he or other appropriately qualified practitioners would not be available to address post-operative complications and that he failed to apply adequate standards of clinical competence or judgment.
The patient gave evidence that one of her breast implants had been removed when an infection set in after surgery and that she was ultimately left disfigured
The medical council fitness to practice committee investigates complaints concerning the practice of doctors in the performance of their duties. It is not involved in the compensation of victims of poor medical attention but rather the policing of the medical profession.
Injuries following medical procedures or arising from negligence are dealt with through the Courts and indeed are the one area of injury law not cover by the Injuries Board procedure in Ireland.
Whilst investigation of medical complaints can take a considerable time to be concluded the time period for the commencement of legal proceedings for compensation is only 2 years less a day and not 3 years as is commonly believed!
In order to progress such cases it is normal practice for solicitors to procure an independent medical review or report in order to assess the quality of the medical treatment or care complained of.
At that point in time more detailed legal advice can be provided as to the legal process of seeking compensation.
If you require further advise on this topic please feel free to contact our offices by e mail or by phone at law@traceysolicitors.ie or 01 8745656
Paul Tracey
28/01/2010
