A JUDGE was yesterday accused of turning his court into 'a circus'.
Judge Gould angered lawyers when he appeared in court without his wig and gown to protest at a High Court ruling that his duties in relation to the listing of cases were clerical and not judicial.
He said: 'I am not sitting as a judge. I am sitting as a clerk.' One lawyer, Kevin Egan, stood up and told Judge Gould: 'Since this is not a court and since I cannot be jailed for contempt of court I am treating this as a circus and I appear as a monkey.' His comment brought a wry smile from the judge. But Judge Gould, sitting at the District Court, continued to refer to lawyers as 'clerks' and asked them if their clients realised this was the position.
Judge Gould was reacting to a ruling by Mr Justice Sears in April which went against his demands that lawyers appearing before him in the listing court should disclose their fees.
In that ruling Mr Justice Sears said that a judge's functions in relation to listing cases were administrative.
Only bail matters were judicial, he said.
What angered barristers most was Judge Gould's decision to sit as a 'clerk' first and a judge later.