(CMR) The Director of the Office of Public Prosecutions, Patrick Moran, had a verbal outburst in court that some eyewitnesses are calling “a mini-meltdown” Thursday afternoon in courtroom 5 in the Kirk House building.
The incident occurred shortly after 4:00 pm when the ongoing Bonaventure manslaughter case took a break for the day. Justice Philip St John-Stevens nor attorneys in attendance were aware of any additional hearing scheduled and were caught off guard by Moran insisting there was one scheduled in relation to Shane Connor. One eyewitness shared the judge was willing to accommodate him at 4:30 pm. Despite that, it was Moran who made a public spectacle by losing his temper in a room full of people.
The judge had left the courthouse when Moran decided to fully express himself. He was heard yelling that he wanted the hearing for the following morning at 9:30 am. The outburst was witnessed by a courthouse full of attorneys including visiting QC's, family members of the defendants and attendees in court. At the end of the hearing for Larry Levers and Michael Stewart Moran was expecting another hearing. Realizing that no hearing was scheduled he began shouting at defense attorney Lee Halliday-Davis about the mixup. Halliday-Davis, visibly taken aback by the verbal onslaught stated that she would not engage him further if he continued to speak to her in that manner. Before she could complete sharing her position with him he proceeded to storm out of the courtroom.
The entire courtroom of eyewitnesses including the two former youth workers accused of manslaughter was left aghast and confused by his unprofessional behavior. Some of the lawyers in attendance then inquired as to what the problem was.
Despite the outburst, it's doubtful that any disciplinary action will be taken against Moran who was just appointed to the post for a three year period in December after acting for almost a year. This is not the first time Moran's professional behavior has been called into question by others.
Moran joined the prosecution office as deputy director in 2015 from the UK, where he had been practicing as a barrister doing criminal work.
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