Tara Burns

Tara Burns is an Irish judge who has served as a Judge of the High Court since June 2018.[1] She was formerly a barrister specialising in criminal law and has continued to focus on criminal trials as a judge. She was the chairperson of the Referendum Commission for a 2019 referendum on divorce.

The Hon. Ms. Justice

Tara Burns
Judge of the High Court
Assumed office
28 June 2018
Nominated byGovernment of Ireland
Appointed byMichael D. Higgins
Personal details
NationalityIrish
Alma mater

Early life

Burns was born in Sligo and attended Mercy College.[2] She obtained a BCL from University College Dublin in 1993.[3]

Burns was a barrister from 1995 and became a senior counsel in 2013.[2] She frequently appeared in criminal cases for both defendants and the Director of Public Prosecutions.[4][5] She appeared on behalf of the Garda Commissioner at the Morris Tribunal in 2002 and represented Superintendent Dave Taylor at the Disclosures Tribunal.[6][7] She also often practised on the Midland and Northern Circuits.[7]

Judicial career

Burns was appointed a judge of the High Court on 28 June 2018.[1] She has heard cases involving sexual offences[8] and homicide.[9]

In November 2018, she was assigned to the Special Criminal Court.[10] She is the judge in charge of the Asylum List of the High Court.[11]

She was appointed as chairperson of the Referendum Commission in February 2019 for the May 2019 referendum to amend the Constitution.[12] Burns attended events around Ireland to promote voter participation in the referendum, including a ceremony to confer Irish citizenship on 2,500 people.[13][14] The Commission spent €2.34 million. Burns endorsed the idea of having a permanent electoral commission and modernising the voter registration system.[15]

References
  1. "President appoints new Judges". President of Ireland. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  2. "Sligo native to be High Court Judge". The Sligo Champion. 16 June 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  3. "Alumni appointed to High Court and Court of Appeal". UCD School of Law. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  4. Giblin, Ruaidhrí (6 October 2016). "Man who sexually abused his sister "in excess of a couple of hundred times" fails to have sentence reduced". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  5. Reid, Natasha (14 December 2016). "Prosecutor: Scully broke all rules by giving daughter too much sedative". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  6. "Representation". The Morris Tribunal. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  7. "Well known Barrister in local Courts is nominated as High Court Judge". Northern Sound. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  8. "'True predator' jailed for seven years for 30 counts of sexual abuse of four girls". Breaking News. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  9. Reid, Natasha (25 July 2019). "Meat factory worker jailed for nine years for killing housemate with boning knife". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  10. "Government shuffles judges". Law Society. 7 November 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  11. "Notice - High Court Michaelmas Term - Assignment of Judges". Courts Service. 13 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  12. "Minister Murphy announces establishment of Referendum Commission". Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  13. "Referendum Commission Chairperson launches campaign in Donegal". Donegal Now. 11 April 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  14. Lucey, Anne (29 April 2019). "New Irish citizens urged to vote in upcoming referendum". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  15. "Report on the Referendum Campaign" (PDF). Refcom. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.