Ian Bailey’s civil action has again been adjourned due to unavailability of a juror.
Mr Justice John Hedigan told the jury today Mr Bailey's case – against the Garda Commissioner and State arising from the Garda investigation into the murder in west Cork of French film maker Sophie Toscan du Plantier – could not proceed until tomorrow at the earliest because one juror remains unavailable.
The case was due to resume yesterday morning, but was adjourned to today because the same juror was not available.
This morning, the judge said the 12th juror is not available today, may be available tomorrow but should definitely be available next week. The problem is the jury cannot go below 10 and if there is less than 10, the case has to be aborted, he said.
Each member of the jury also has to be available to hear all of the evidence, he added.
The judge said the reasons for the juror’s absence was absolutely genuine but he did not want to discuss his personal affairs. If the juror cannot come tomorrow, the case will be adjourned to next Tuesday.
The judge said his concern is, because this is a long case likely to run into the new year, to retain as many jurors as possible. He apologised to the 11 jurors for the inconvenience and asked them to return to court tomorrow.
At this point, the jury foreman said some jurors have commitments in January and he would inform the court in that regard.
In his action, Mr Bailey is claiming damages on grounds including wrongful arrest and conspiracy over the conduct of the murder investigation. Ms Toscan du Plantier’s body was found near Toormore, Schull, on December 23rd, 1996.
The defendants deny his claims.
