Retired Cork Judge says there is room for change in delivering justice

A recently retired judge has said that a focus on restorative justice in Cork could assist in dealing with crime over the coming years.

Judge Mary Dorgan, whose career spanned more than four decades, told The Echo that while crime rates and gender roles in crime have seen little change throughout her tenure, there is room for change when it comes to delivering justice.

“Restorative justice would be a very good change if it was being implemented as opposed to sending people to jail,” said Ms Dorgan.

“Community service obviously has a big role to play as well, because if somebody does community service, they're kind of paying back society for the wrong they've caused, which is a big thing.

“I don't have statistics, but I think traditionally [crime rates] remain the same, and I can't say that I've noticed any particular shift in gender roles over the years [either].

“Shoplifting and supermarket theft would be one that women would do [more of], whereas men usually are more involved in violent crime or burglaries, but that's changing a bit too,” she added.

“What I would like to see moving forward is people looking more at restorative justice and other ways of dealing with crime in the context of resolution.

“I think it's very important for somebody who has been assaulted to know that they're not at risk from the accused again, that they're safe to walk down the street because they have met the accused face to face and got reassurance.

“That's all done under the auspices of the probation service, and it's only suitable for certain cases, but there are cases where it works very well.

“A lot of the time victims of crimes want to hear from the accused person. That they're sorry, they won't do it again, and they want to make retribution.” 

Having qualified as a solicitor in her early 20s, Ms Dorgan’s career in the justice realm has seen her through many societal changes, with the availability and over consumption of alcohol and illegal drugs becoming a key aspect of modern crime.

“I don't know what the most prevalent crime is in Cork, but I suspect it's a section 4 public order, drunk and disorderly, and unfortunately, all judges can do under legislation is fine offenders,” said Ms Dorgan.

“What has changed [over the years] is the availability of drugs, the number of people taking them, and the chaos and heightened behaviour arising from that.

“There's an awful lot of addictions to street tablets (prescription medicine); heroin is still a big problem; and there are a lot of made-up drugs that are being sold as one thing, but they are actually something else.

“Drug dealers really don't discriminate, they sell whatever they can,” she added.

“The other problem is cannabis. There's a huge level of exacerbation of existing mental health issues because people are smoking cannabis.

“Young people today are being bamboozled by drugs, the internet, and their phones.” 

In her position, Ms Dorgan presided over cases in the West Cork and Cork city districts for almost nine years, describing her role as "an honour and a privilege".

"I would never have seen becoming a judge as something that I might have achieved in my lifetime,” said Ms Dorgan.

“At a particular stage of my career, two people mentioned that they thought I should apply for a judicial appointment.

“They felt I might be good at it. I wasn't so sure whether I would be or I wouldn't be, but I did put in the application and promptly forgot about it.

“So, when the Minister [for Justice] rang me, and I was invited to become a judge, I immediately said yes.

“It was such an honour and a privilege to be appointed,” she added.

“I covered all sorts of different aspects - I did the general court down in West Cork, which would have been a bit of everything, and then I was appointed back to Cork [city] and started doing childcare and family law.” 

Ms Dorgan said there was "no average day in the life of a judge”.

“Effectively everybody who's arrested in the city comes in front of you, so you can have everything from petty theft and drunk and disorderly, up to murders,” said Ms Dorgan.

“One daily ritual or habit I did was I used to always ground myself before I'd leave my chambers.

“I would say [to myself] that I'm going to try and stay as calm as I possibly can, I'm going to try and be as fair as I possibly can, and respectful of the people who are coming in front of me.

“Even if they're habitual offenders, there's still a level of stress, and I wanted to try and minimise that.” 

Looking forward to her retirement, Ms Dorgan said she is going to focus on “the simple things”.

“I am going to enjoy the summer. I’ll go out for some nice meals if I can,” said Ms Dorgan.

“I'd also like to do some kind of charitable work as well, and I would possibly consider going back to college, to do something like a psychology degree, because I'm interested in what makes people tick."