Is the legal system in this country a joke?

I was just reading the news on Aertel earlier tonight and I see that a secondary school teacher who apparently put up those two pictures of Brain Cowen in two art museums in Dublin is likely to be prosecuted for 'criminal damage'.

It says he put glue on the walls of the museums and he was captured doing so on cctv. Do you find that utterly ridiculous when you consider the scandals that have gone on in this country over the past few months?
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Putting glue on a wall and swindling people out of their pensions, deceiving the State about how many bank accounts you have, moving money out of a bank account before it is checked and then putting it back in again a day later are not in the same league.

Orla C	You're right, it's completely ludicrous. One of the occupational hazards of being a public figure is the kind of lampooning you would get. Saying that a painter is guilty of criminal damage is completely ridiculous, and very petty. Mind you, the painter will probably do quite well out of this in the end, so .....

Sshhhh! It's Podge and Rodge	We already knew it was a joke when Charlie Haughey escaped charges of corruption, when the killers of Gerry McCabe had their charges reduced to manslaughter and when Jim McDaid got off lightly for drunkenly driving down the wrong way of a busy motorway.

Soul Jacker	I doubt any charges will ever be pressed, I think Biffo'd rather pay for the wall to be painted himself to have this story go away.. I think Ireland is not unique with it's legal system's limitations. In capitalist systems money is king, I don't see why people are surprised those with the finances can quite literally get away with mass robbery & murder.

gaspipe	ha joke?? joke is not the word! there is no words to describe how fcuked up it is! retarded monkeys with rocks in there heads could do a better job!!

carol m	The corruption in this country is terrible. There is no justice. They should re-name the news, "The bad news of the day."

HoneyBabe	LOL well there are clowns sitting in the justice system so yes it is a joke!!

GreenBrigade	sounds a bit daft, the guy only made a mistake, its not a crime. The museum staff should have shown him the correct method to put up the pics

_MrsShaneFilan_	Just because there have been 'scandals' occurring over the past few weeks doesn't mean that minor incidents won't be prosecuted. This teacher was caught red-handed...why the hell shouldn't he be prosecuted?! If we all had your attitude I dread to think the amount of minor incidents that would be left unprosecuted in this country...

Father Jake	Law is nothing to do with common sense notions of justice or balance. It is always easy to find examples of apparent absurdity to make law look inappropriate or worse, but the fact is... the law is made up of words and words are the only medium we can trust enough to organise a society. Emotions would mean 'mob rule'. Words are of course imperfect in the sense that they are interpreted by imperfect human beings, nevertheless... they are the best we have to work with.

SexyDude	Justice has to be served on all levels.

ldstorey	The way I see it, the joke is that it made to a news article. What is a joke is journalism today and what people are willing to write and what people are willing to read. What the man did is vandalism and is punishable if the owner so chooses to press charges.

Kiss Me Im Irish;)	The legal system is a joke and you know it.:):):) Fair play to the teacher,it was brill!

RDM	Yes. Going to court is like going to the casino.

Yahaz M	i think criminal damage is a bit heavy.. quite possible they did cause damage to the wall, but imo it's an innocent offence which could be dealt with informally. just hand over some money for damages!! no need for a criminal record at all.. haven't read the story but is it possible they'll lose their job? if it is it's pretty outrageous!! not sure you can compare it to the other scandels though.. the 'offenses' are in compleeeetely different leagues and the punishments would reflect that. and the teacher has been caught..

Tyler	Nope

student	Yep! I think fair play to him for doing it! Brian Cowen is a muppet!!

John Mclane	I do consider it as a joke i totally agree with you once I saw on the news a story about an over weighted dog can you actually believe that?

James LaFleur	no its actually a riddle