“Who is going to do a hair follicle test in Australia? How does this work?” were questions posed by a Judge when she was told a defendant was not present in her court when his case was called, because he was in Australia.
The defendant had agreed at a previous sitting that he would undergo hair follicle testing while he was there to prove he was drug-free.
This was a condition imposed by Judge Fiona Lydon when she was told the defendant wanted to return to his job in Australia and a conviction for possession of cocaine would put his work, driving heavy machinery in mines in Perth, and his residency in jeopardy.
Judge Lydon agreed to be lenient with defendant Shane Dunleavy on his first offence and said that if he could prove he was drug-free she would strike out the charge on condition he make a €500 donation to the court poor box.
However, when the matter was recalled at Galway District Court this week Judge Valerie Corcoran expressed bemusement over how the Australian hair follicle test would be presented to the court in Galway.
She put the matter back to the June 10 sitting of the court for Judge Lydon to deal with.
At the initial hearing Judge Lydon was told Dunleavy was home for 16 days for a wedding. On his second day home he met “friends of friends and took something”. He was jet-lagged at the time but had been fully co-operative with Gardaí. The cocaine found in his possession was valued at €20. He is 32 and has no previous convictions and was pleading guilty to the charge.
His solicitor told the Judge that his client was in the process of applying for permanent residency in Australia and wanted to avoid a conviction.
Judge Lydon said at the time that she needed to be convinced Dunleavy was drug-free and, to this end, she would require him to undergo hair follicle tests, at his own expense in Australia, and to furnish the results to her via his solicitor. “If he’s drug-free and can prove it, I’ll be lenient,” she said.
She was assured by the defence that Dunleavy intended to stay clear of drugs and had learned his lesson. Adjourning the case until the March 23 sitting of the court, she warned the defendant “I won’t be waiting” and said that he would need to send proof of his drug-free status by way of hair follicle test results for her to examine.
