Martin Nolan (judge)

• Garda Síochána College
• King's Inns

The Hon. Mr Justice Martin Nolan
Judge of the Circuit Court
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 May 2007

Martin Edward Nolan ^[1] (born 12 June 1959) ^[2] is an Irish judge who has served as a Judge of the Circuit Court since May 2007.

He sits as a judge presiding over the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Early life

Nolan grew up in County Wexford, playing Gaelic football for Oylegate–Glenbrien GAA and the Wexford minor (under-18) team. ^{[3] [2]}

Nolan was a member of the Garda Síochána from 1979 to 1989, based in Rathfarnham and Tallaght. ^{[4] [2]}

Legal career

Nolan studied at the King's Inns and was called to the Bar in 1989. He worked in a mixed practice including criminal, civil and family law.

Judicial career

He was nominated to the Circuit Court in May 2007; having practised as a barrister until his Circuit Court appointment. ^[3]

Controversies

Judge Nolan has attracted controversy for the perceived leniency of some of the sentences he has passed, particularly in the areas of Child Sexual Abuse Material or child sexual assault. An online petition to remove him from the bench attracted thousands of signatures. ^[5] Examples of supposedly lenient sentences include:

• Suspended sentence for a man who had 10000 images of child abuse images. ^[6]
• Suspended sentence for a man who was caught masturbating in front of four children. ^[7]
• Suspended sentence for a man who knocked down and killed a woman, crossing the road, and furthermore suspended sentencing the same man, who was in the area to sell drugs ^[8]
• Giving a teenager a suspended three-year sentence over his role in an incident where a woman was tied up, assaulted and scalded with boiling water. (The offender was not the one who actually poured the water)
• Giving a man a suspended sentence for possession of 100 child abuse images
• Giving another man a suspended sentence for possession of 7,000 images of child pornography

• Gave a man who sexually assaulted an 18-year-old a four-year suspended sentence on condition he pay €15,000 to his victim
• Giving short sentences of 2+1⁄2–3 years for conspiracy to defraud to two Anglo Irish Bank executives (Willie McAteer and John Bowe) and the former Irish Life & Permanent CEO Denis Casey
• Sentencing Garda Paul Moody to three years and three months for coercive control after he used his power as a Garda to harass a woman, and sent her thousands of threatening and abusive messages ^[9]
• Giving a suspended sentence to a man who punched and kicked his partner before standing on her neck and telling her he was going to kill her ^[10]
• Giving a suspended sentence to a taxi driver who deliberately drove into a cyclist ^[11]
• Giving a suspended sentence to a principal who stole €44,000 from his own school ^[12]
• Giving a suspended sentence to a woman who drove into the hard shoulder on the M50 motorway and collided with a motorcyclist, killing him ^[13]
• Giving a 20-month sentence to a man who burned a baby's face with a blowtorch ^[14]
• Giving a 3+1⁄2-year sentence to a man who stabbed three other men; the offender had previously been convicted of manslaughter ^[15]

He has also been criticised for some sentences viewed as excessive:

• In 2012 a man received a six-year sentence for evading €1.6 million of duty on imported garlic

A 2023 Irish Times article by Mary Carolan discussed Nolan, saying that he passes about 40 sentences a week, out of which perhaps one or two of those is appealed by the offender and one, or fewer, by the Director of Public Prosecutions. However, she said that there is no centralised sentencing database in the Republic of Ireland that would allow for a proper analysis of sentences handed down by Judge Nolan. ^[4]

Personal life

Nolan's house has been burgled twice; on one occasion in 2015 he had to recuse himself from a case as the offender had previously been given a suspended sentence by Nolan. ^{[16] [17]} He is married and has four children. ^[2]

References

1. "Barrister appointed as circuit court judge". Irish Independent. 9 May 2007. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
2. "Garda-turned-judge is used to controversy". Independent.ie. 19 October 2012.
3. "Judge a former garda noted for swift, informed decisions". The Irish Times.
4. "Too lenient or excessively punitive? Controversy over Judge Martin Nolan's sentencing". The Irish Times.
5. Hosford, Paul (16 November 2013). "Over 2,000 people have signed a petition calling for a judge to resign". TheJournal.ie.
6. "Man found with 10,000 images of child abuse material avoids jail term". rte.ie. 10 July 2024.
7. Hayes, Isabel (22 March 2024). "Man who masturbated in front of four children given suspended sentence". irishtimes.com.
8. Kelly, Shaun (12 March 2024). "Man whose driving caused death of French tourist avoids jail term for selling drugs on same day". TheJournal.ie.
9. "Paul Moody: His conviction has seriously damaged the reputation of An Garda Síochána". The Irish Times.
10. "Man who punched, kicked ex-partner in 'savage attack' gets suspended sentence". The Irish Times.
11. "Shocking video of Dublin taxi driver who deliberately drove into a cyclist and knocked him off his bike". Independent.ie. 21 October 2022.
12. "Principal stole over €44,000 from his school in 'appalling breach of trust'". Independent.ie. 11 October 2022.
13. "Woman who drove into hard shoulder before fatal collision with motorcyclist avoids jail". BreakingNews.ie. 7 November 2022.
14. "Man jailed for burning toddler's face with mini blowtorch". The Irish Times.
15. "Convicted killer jailed for stabbing three men outside Dublin pub". BreakingNews.ie. 10 October 2022.
16. Gallagher, Conor; McLean, Sonya (25 March 2015). "Judge says he can't rule on a case... because the suspect burgled his house". Irish Mirror.
17. Gallagher, Conor (21 May 2015). "Burglar ended up in court before a judge whose house he had burgled". TheJournal.ie.